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THE 
HISTORY 

OF  NATIONS 

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BELGIUM    V 
SWITZERLAND 


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THE  HISTORY  OF  NATIONS 

HDiRY CABOT  LODGE. PhJ).LLD.,EDITOR-IN<;HIEr 


HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM 

Edited  by 

W.  HAROLD  CLAFLINMA. 

Department  of  History 
Harvard  University 

SWITZERLAND 

by 

CHARLES  DANDLIKERLL.D. 

Revised  and  Edited  by 

ELBERT  JAY  BENTON.Ph.D. 

Department  of  History 
Western  Reserve  University 

Volume  xm 


niustrated 


The  H . W.  Snow  and  Son  Company 

C  h  i   c   a   g    o 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
JOHN  D.  MORRIS  &  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1910 
THE  H.  W.  SNOW  &  SON  COMPANY 


THE   HISTORY   OF  NATIONS 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,  PkD.,  L.L.D. 
Associate  Editors  and  Authors 


ARCHIBALD  HERRT  SAYCE.  LL.D., 

Professor    of    Assyriology,     Oxford     Uni- 
versity 


SIR  ROBERT  K.  DOUGLAS, 

Professor  of  Chinese,  King's  College,  Lon- 
don 


CHRISTOPHER  JOHNSTON.  M.D.,  Ph.D.. 

Associate  Professor  of  Oriental  History  and 
Archaeology,  Johns  Hopkins  University 


C.  W.  C.  OMAN,  LL.D.. 

Professor  of  History,  Oxford  University 


JEREMIAH  WHIPPLE  JENKS.  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Political  Economy  and   Pol- 
itics, Cornell  University 


KANICHI  ASAKAWA,  Ph.D.. 

Instructor    in    the    History    of    Japanese 
Civilization,  Yale  University 


THEODOR  MOMMSEN. 

Late   Professor  of  Ancient   History.   Uni- 
versity of  Berlin 


ARTHUR  C.  HOWLAND.  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania 


WILFRED  HAROLD  MUNRO,  Ph.D.. 

Professor    of    European    History,    Brown 

University 


G.  MERCER  ADAM, 

Historian  and  Editor 


FRED  MORROW  FLING.  Ph.D.. 

Professor  of  European  History,  University 
of  Nebraska 


CHARLES  MERIVALE.  LL.D.. 

Late   Dean  of   Ely,   formerly   Lecturer  in 
History,  Cambridge  University 


FRA:i90IS  AUGUSTE  MARIE  MIGNET. 
Late  Member  of  the  French  Academy 


JAMES  WESTFALL  THOMPSON,  Ph.D., 
J.  HI6GINS0N  CABOT,  Ph.D.,  Department    of    History,     University    of 

Depaitment  of   History,  Wellesley  College  Chicago 


SIR  WILLIAM  W.  HUNTER,  F.R.S., 

Late  Director-General  of  Statistics  in  India 


SAMUEL  RAWSON  GARDINER,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Modem  History,  King's  Col- 
lege. London 


R.  W.  JOYCE,  LL.D., 
OSOROS  M.  DUTCHER,  Ph.D..  Commissioner  for  the  Publication  of  th* 

Professor  of  History,  Wesleyan  University  A:icient  Laws  of  Ireland 


ASSOCIATE  EDITORS  AND   AUTHORS-Continued 


JUSTIN  McCarthy,  ll.d.. 

Author  and  Historian 


AUGUSTUS  HUNT  SHEARER.  Ph.D.. 

Instructor    in     History,     Trinity    College* 
Hartford 


W.  HAROLD  CLAFLIN.  B.A., 

Department    of    History.     Harvard    Uni- 
versity 


PAUL  LOUIS  LEGER. 

Professor  of  the  Slav  Languages,  C<Sllege 
de  France 


WILLIAM  E.  LIN6LEBACH,  Ph.D.. 

Assistant   Professor  of  European  History. 
University  of  Pennsylvania 


BAYARD  TAYLOR, 

Former  United  States  Minister  to  Germany 


CHARLES  DANDLIKER,  LL.D., 

President  of  Zurich  University 


SIDNEY  B.  FAY.  Ph.D., 

Professor  of  History,    Dartmouth  College 


ELBERT  JAY  BENTON,  Ph.D.. 

Department  of  History.  Western  Reserve 
University 


SIR  EDWARD  S.  CREASY. 

Late  Professor  of  History,  University  Col- 
lege, London 


ARCHIBALD  CARY  COOLIDGE.  Ph.D., 

Assistant    Professor   of    History,    Harvard 
University 


WILLIAM  RICHARD  MORFILL.  M.A., 

Professor  of   Russian   and   other   Slavonic 
Languages,  Oxford  University 

CHARLES  EDMUND  FRYER.  Ph.D.. 

Department  of  History,  McGill  University 

E.  C.  OTTE, 

Specialist  on  Scandinavian  History 

EDWARD  S.  CORWIN,  Ph.D.. 

Instructor     in     History,     Princeton     Uni- 
versity 


J.  SCOTT  KELTIE,  LL.D.. 

President  Royal  Geographical  Society 


ALBERT  GALLOWAY  KELLER.  Ph.D.. 

Assistant   Professor  of  the  Science  of  So- 
ciety, Yale  University 


EDWARD  JAMES  PAYNE,  M.A.. 

Fellow  of  University  College,  Oxford 

PHILIP  PATTERSON  WELLS.  Ph.D.. 

Lecturer  in  History  and  Librarian  of  the 
Law  School,  Yale  University 


FREDERICK  ALBION  OBER. 

Historian,  Author  and  Traveler 


JAMES  WILFORD  GARNER.  Ph.D.. 

Professor  of  Political  Science,   University 
of  Illinois 


JOHN  BACH  McMASTER,  LIttD..  LL.D^ 

Professor  of  History,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania 


JAMES  LAMONT  PERKINS.   Managing  Eaitor 


The  editors  and  publishers  desire  to  express  their  appreciation  for  valuable 
advice  and  suggestions  received  from  the  following:  Hon.  Andrew  D.  White, 
LL.D.,  Alfred  Thayer  Mahan,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Hon.  Charles  Emory  Smith, 
LL.D.,  Professor  Edward  Gaylord  Bourne,  Ph.D.,  Charles  F.  Thwing, 
LL.D.,  Dr.  Emil  Reich,  William  Elliot  Griffis,  LL.D.,  Professor  John 
Martin  Vincent,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Melvil  Dbwey,  LL.D.,  Alston  Ellis,  LL.D., 
Professor  Charles  H.  McCarthy,  Ph.D.,  Professor  Herman  V,  Ames,  Ph.D., 
Professor  Walter  L.  Fleming,  Ph.D.,  Professor  David  Y.  Thomas,  Ph.D., 
Mr.  Otto  Reich  and  Mr.  O.  M.  Dickerson. 

vii 


CONTENTS 

HISTORY   OF   HOLLAND   AND   BELGIUM 

PART   I 
THE  RISE  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS.    50  b.  0.-1555  a.  d. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Before  Invasion  of  the  Franks.    50  b.  C.-250  a.  d.      3 
II.  Struggle  of  Franks  and  Saxons.    250-800  a.  d.     .     11 

III.  Rise  of  the  Counts.    800-1018     .         .         .         .16 

IV.  Decline  of  Feudalism  and  Growth  of  the  Towns 

1018-1384 24 

V.  Power  of  the  House  of  Burgundy.    1384-1506       .  36 
VI.  Margaret  of  Austria  and  Charles  V   of  Spain 

1506-1555 53 

PART   II 

THE   STRUGGLE   FOR  LIBERTY.    155S-1648 

VII.  Condition  of  the  Netherlands  under  Philip  II 

OF   Spain.      1555-1566       .         .         .         .         .67 
VIII.  Commencement   of   the   Revolution.     1566        .     85 
IX.  Surrender    of    Valenciennes    and    Tyranny    of 

Alva.      1566-1573 .98 

X.  Appointment  of  Requesens  and  Pacification  of 

Ghent.      i  573-1576  .         .         .         .         .116 

XI.  Revolt  from  Sovereignty  and  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence.     1 576-1 580  .....   125 
XII.  Edict  of  Philip  and  Murder  of  Prince  of  Orange 

1580-1584 135 

XIII.  Alexander,  Duke  of  Parma,     i  584-1 592       .         .   145 

XIV.  Successes    of    Prince    Maurice    and    Death    of 

Philip  II.     1 592-1599      .....   160 
XV.  Prince  Maurice  and  Spinola.     i 599-1605     .         .   170 
XVI.  Dutch  Disasters  and  the  Twelve  Years'  Peace 

1606-1619 182 

xi 


xil  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVII.  Renewal  of  War  with  Spain  and  the  Despotism 

OF  Prince  Maurice.     1619-1625         .         .         .  201 
XVIII.  Frederick  Henry  and  the  Peace  of  Westphalia 

1625-1648 208 

PART   III 

THE  DUTCH   REPUBLIC.    1648-1813 

XIX.  War    with    England.     1648- 1678         .  .  .  225 

XX.  William  III.  and  Louis  XIV.     1678-1713  ,  .  242 

XXI.  Decline   of   the    Republic,     1713-1794  .  .  253 

XXII.  The  French  Invasion.     1794-1813        .  •  .  265 

PART    IV 
THE  KINGDOMS  OF  HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM.   1814-1910 

XXIII.  William    I    as    Prince    and    Sovereign    of    the 

Netherlands.     1814-1815  ....  279 

XXIV.  The    Belgian    Revolution.     181 5-1832  .         .  291 
XXV.  Belgium  as  an  Independent  Kingdom.    1830-1910  304 

XXVI.  The  Kingdom  of  the  Netherlands.     1840-1910    .  313 


HISTORY   OF   SWITZERLAND 

PART   I 

EARLY   SWITZERLAND   AND   THE   RISE   OF  THE   CON- 
FEDERATION.      15 16  A.D. 

L  The  Ancient  Races  and  Their  Civilization,   iooo 

B.C.-750  A.D 327 

II.  Union   under   Carlovingian   and  German   Rule 

750-1057 340 

III.  Territorial  Divisions.     1057-1218        .         .         .  347 

IV.  Formation  of  the  Leagues.     1218-1315         .         .  357 
V.  Growth   of  the   Confederation.     131 5-1400        .  2i7^ 

VI.  Switzerland  at  the  Height  of  Her  Power.    1400- 

1516 389 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VII.  The  Era  of  the  Reformation.    1516-1600     .         .  431 
VIII.  Religious  Wars  and  the  Aristocratic  Constitu- 
tions.    1600-1712  461 

PART    II 

MODERN   SWITZERLAND.   1712-1910 

IX.  Political  Disunion  of  the  Eighteenth  Century 

1712-1798 487 

X.  Revolution    and    Attempts    at    Reorganization 

1798-1830 503 

XL  Internal    Reorganization.     1830-1848         .         .  533 
XII.  The  Consolidation  of  the  Federal  States.    1848- 

1874 556 

XIII.  Centralization    and    Socialism  .        .        .»  569 

Bibliography         ,        .»,        ,        ..        •        »,        •,        •        .  597 

Index  •••••«««»•  601 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Civic-Guards  of  Brussells  Paying  Homage  to  the 
Bodies  of  Counts  Egmont  and  Horn.  (Photo- 
gravure) .......        Frontispiece 

FAaNG   PAGE 

Baldwin  VI  Grants  Flandrian  Constitution       .         .         .24 
The  Massacre  at  Dinant     .......     42 

Mary    of    Burgundy    Swears    to    Respect    the    Rights    of 

Brussels 50 

The  Attempt  of  the  Church  to  Restore  Reason  to  Joanna 

OF    Spain        . 52 

Desiderius  Erasmus      ........     62 

Marguerite,    Duchess    of    Parma         .         .         .         .         .72 

Last   Interview   between   William   of  Orange  and   Count 

Egmont 102 

Duke  of  Alva no 

The   Spanish   Fury       ........   122 

William  the  Silent     ........   140 

Duke  of  Parma    .........  158 

Commissioners  Arranging  the  Peace  of  Westphalia     .         .  216 
Michel  de   Ruyter        ........  232 

The  Battle  of  Morgarten    .......  364 

Prayer  of  the  Swiss  before  the  Battle  of  Sempach     .         .  380 
The  Flight  of  Charles  the  Bold        .....  408 

Baruch  de  Spinoza    ) 

Rene  Descartes    .      \ ^^ 

Johann   Heindrich   Pestalozzi     .         .        .•        :•)        ,         .  496 


TEXT  MAPS 

The  Netherlands,  Showing  Height  of  Land        .  ,  .8 

Burgundy's  Dominions  under  Charles  the  Rash  .  .     49 

Commercial  Towns  of  the  Middle  Ages      ,         .  ,  ,..60 


xvi  LIST     OF     ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The  Netherlands.     1579       .         .         .         .         .         .         .132 

The   United    Provinces    and    the    Austrian    Netherlands 

1609 190 

Western  Europe  after  the  Peace  of  Westphalia        .         .  218 
Holland    and    Belgium         .......  302 

Central  Europe,     ioth  and  i2th  Centuries        .         .         .  348 
The  Swiss  Confederation     .......  383 

Switzerland  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna.     1815       .         .  526 


PART  I 

THE  RISE  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS 
50  B.  C.-1555  A.  D. 


HISTORY    OF 
HOLLAND   AND    BELGIUM 

Chapter  I 

BEFORE   INVASION   OF   THE   FRANKS 
50  B.C.-250  A.D. 

THE  little  kingdoms  of  Holland  and  Belgium  are  situated 
in  that  low  and  humid  plain  which,  stretching  along  the 
ocean  over  against  the  southeastern  coast  of  England 
from  the  frontiers  of  France  to  those  of  Germany,  has  borne  for 
ages  the  fit  name  of  the  Netherlands — the  Low  Countries.  This 
plain,  220  miles  in  length  from  north  to  south  and  140  miles  in 
its  greatest  breadth,  is  irrigated  by  the  sluggish  waters  of  the 
Rhine,  the  Meuse,  and  the  Scheldt. 

Two  distinct  races  have  in  historical  times  inhabited  the  plain. 
The  one,  occupying  the  valleys  of  the  Meuse  and  the  Scheldt  and 
the  high  grounds  bordering  on  France,  speak  a  dialect  of  the  French 
language  and  evidently  belong  to  the  Gallic  race.  They  are  called 
Walloons  and  form  to-day  nearly  one-half  the  population  of  Bel- 
gium. The  great  mining  and  manufacturing  industries  of  Belgium 
are  largely  in  their  hands.  A  large  portion  of  the  Belgian  people 
and  the  great  mass  of  the  inhabitants  of  Holland  speak  the  Low 
German  dialect  in  its  modifications  of  Flemish  and  Dutch;  and 
they  offer  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  the  Germanic  race — 
being  slow,  phlegmatic,  and  persevering,  rather  than  vivacious, 
with  talents  for  agricultural  pursuits,  navigation,  and  commerce. 
And  though  closer  akin  to  their  Dutch  neighbors  than  to  their 
Walloon  compatriots,  political  differences  have  tended  to  separate 
them;  the  Flemish  language  is  on  the  decline  and  the  prevailing 
speech  in  Belgium  to-day  is  the  French.  The  history  of  the 
last  named  portion  of  the  people  of  the  Netherlands  is  com- 
pletely linked  to  that  of  the  soil  which  they  occupy.  In  remote 
times,  when  the  inhabitants  of  this  plain  were  few  and  uncivilized, 
the  country  formed  but  one  immense  morass,  of  which  the  chief 
part  was  incessantly  inundated  and  made  sterile  by  the  waters  of 


4  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

50  B.C.  •  250  A.D. 

the  sea.  Pliny  the  naturalist,  who  visited  the  northern  coasts,  has 
left  us  a  picture  of  their  state  in  his  days.  "  There,"  says  he, 
**  the  ocean  pours  in  its  flood  twice  every  day,  and  produces  a  per- 
petual uncertainty  whether  the  country  may  be  considered  as  a 
part  of  the  continent  or  of  the  sea.  The  wretched  inhabitants 
take  refuge  on  the  sand-hills,  or  in  little  huts,  which  they  construct 
on  the  summits  of  lofty  stakes,  whose  elevation  is  conformable  to 
that  of  the  highest  tides.  When  the  sea  rises  they  appear  like 
navigators;  when  it  retires  they  seem  as  though  they  had  been 
shipwrecked.  They  subsist  on  the  fish  left  by  the  refluent  waters, 
and  which  they  catch  in  nets  formed  of  rushes  or  seaweed.  Neither 
tree  nor  shrub  is  visible  on  these  shores.  The  drink  of  the  people 
is  rain  water,  which  they  preserve  with  great  care;  their  fuel,  a 
sort  of  turf,  which  they  gather  and  form  with  the  hand.  And  yet 
these  unfortunate  beings  dare  to  complain  against  their  fate  when 
they  fall  under  the  power  and  are  incorporated  with  the  empire 
of  Rome!"  1 

The  picture  of  poverty  and  suffering  which  this  passage  pre- 
sents is  heightened  when  joined  to  a  description  of  the  country. 
The  coasts  consisted  only  of  sandbanks  or  slime,  alternately  over- 
flowed or  left  imperfectly  dry.  A  little  farther  inland  trees  were 
to  be  found,  but  on  a  soil  so  marshy  that  an  inundation  or  a  tempest 
threw  down  whole  forests,  such  as  are  still  at  times  discovered  at 
eight  or  ten  feet  depth  below  the  surface.  The  sea  had  no  limits, 
the  rivers  no  beds  nor  banks,  the  earth  no  solidity, — for,  accord- 
ing to  an  author  of  the  third  century  of  our  era,  there  was  not  in 
the  whole  of  the  immense  plain  a  spot  of  ground  that  did  not  yield 
under  the  footsteps  of  man. 

It  was  not  the  same  in  the  southern  parts,  which  form  at  pres- 
ent the  Walloon  country.  These  high  grounds  suffered  much  less 
from  the  ravages  of  the  waters.  The  ancient  forest  of  the  Ar- 
dennes, extending  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Scheldt,  sheltered  a 
numerous  though  savage  population,  which  in  all  things  resembled 
the  Germans,  from  whom  they  derived  their  descent.  The  chase 
and  the  occupations  of  rude  agriculture  sufficed  for  the  wants  of 
a  race  less  poor  and  less  patient,  but  more  unsteady  and  ambitious, 
than  the  fishermen  of  the  lowlands.  Thus  it  is  that  history  pre- 
sents us  with  a  tribe  of  warriors  and  conquerors  on  the  southern 
frontier  of  the  country,  while  the  scattered  inhabitants  of  the  re- 
maining parts  seemed  to  have  fixed  there  without  a  contest,  and  to 
»  Pliny,  "  Histor'ta  Naturalis." 


BEFORE     THE     FRANKS  5 

50   B.C.  -  250  A.D. 

have  traced  out  for  themselves,  by  necessity  and  habit,  an  existence 
which  any  other  people  must  have  considered  insupportable. 

In  order  to  form  an  idea  of  the  solitude  and  desolation  which 
once  reigned  where  we  now  see  the  most  richly  cultivated  fields, 
the  most  thriving  villages,  and  the  wealthiest  towns  of  the  Conti- 
nent, the  imagination  must  go  back  to  times  which  have  not  left 
one  monument  of  antiauity  and  scarcely  a  vestige  of  fact  for  pos- 
terity. 

The  history  of  the  Netherlands  is,  then,  essentially  that  of  a 
patient  and  industrious  population  struggling  against  every  ob- 
stacle which  nature  could  oppose  to  its  well-being;  and  in  this 
contest  man  triumphed  most  completely  over  the  elements  in  those 
places  where  they  offered  the  greatest  resistance.  This  extraor- 
dinary result  was  due  to  the  hardy  stamp  of  character  imprinted 
by  suffering  and  danger  on  those  who  had  the  ocean  for  their  foe ; 
to  the  nature  of  their  country,  which  presented  no  lure  for  con- 
quest; and,  finally,  to  the  toleration,  the  justice,  and  the  liberty 
nourished  among  men  left  to  themselves,  and  who  found  resources 
in  their  social  state  which  rendered  change  an  object  neither  of 
their  wants  nor  wishes. 

About  half  a  century  before  the  Christian  era  the  obscurity 
which  enveloped  the  north  of  Europe  began  to  disperse;  and  the 
expedition  of  Julius  Caesar  gave  to  the  civilized  world  the  first 
notions  of  the  Netherlands,  Germany,  and  England.  Caesar,  after 
having  subjugated  the  chief  part  of  Gaul,  turned  his  arms  against 
the  warlike  tribes  of  the  Ardennes,  who  refused  to  accept  his  alliance 
or  implore  his  protection.  They  were  called  Belgae  by  the  Ro- 
mans, and  at  once  pronounced  the  least  civilized  and  the  bravest 
of  the  Gauls.  Caesar  there  found  several  ignorant  and  poor  but 
intrepid  clans  of  warriors,  who  marched  fiercely  to  encounter  him ; 
and,  notwithstanding  their  inferiority  in  numbers,  in  weapons,  and 
in  tactics,  they  nearly  destroyed  the  disciplined  armies  of  Rome. 
They  were,  however,  defeated,  and  their  country  ravaged  by  the 
invaders,  who  found  less  success  when  they  attacked  the  natives 
of  the  low  grounds.  The  Menapians,  a  people  who  occupied  the 
present  provinces  of  Flanders  and  Antwerp,  though  less  numerous 
than  those  whom  the  Romans  had  last  vanquished,  arrested  their 
progress  both  by  open  fight  and  by  that  petty  and  harassing  con- 
test,— that  warfare  of  the  people  rather  than  of  the  soldiery, — so 
well  adapted  to  the  nature  of  the  country.     The  Roman  legions 


6  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

50  B.C.  -  250  A.D. 

retreated  for  the  first  time,  and  were  contented  to  occupy  the  higher 
parts,  which  now  form  the  Walloon  provinces. 

But  the  policy  of  Caesar  made  greater  progress  than  his  arms. 
He  had  defeated  rather  than  subdued  those  who  had  dared  the 
contest.  He  consolidated  his  victories  without  new  battles;  he 
offered  peace  to  his  enemies,  in  proposing  to  them  alliance;  and 
he  required  their  aid,  as  friends,  to  carry  on  new  wars  in  other 
lands.  He  thus  attracted  toward  him,  and  ranged  under  his  ban- 
ners, not  only  those  people  situated  to  the  west  of  the  Rhine  and 
the  Meuse,  but  several  other  nations  more  to  the  north,  whose 
territory  he  had  never  seen;  and  particularly  the  Batavians — a 
valiant  tribe,  stated  by  various  ancient  authors,  and  particularly 
by  Tacitus,  as  a  fraction  of  the  Catti,  who  occupied  the  space  com- 
prised between  these  rivers.  The  young  men  of  these  warlike 
people,  dazzled  by  the  splendor  of  the  Roman  armies,  felt  proud 
and  happy  in  being  allowed  to  identify  themselves  with  them. 
Caesar  encouraged  this  disposition,  and  even  went  so  far  on  some 
occasions  as  to  deprive  the  Roman  cavalry  of  their  horses,  on 
which  he  mounted  these  new  allies,  who  managed  them  better  than 
the  Italian  riders. 

These  auxiliaries  were  chiefly  drawn  from  Hainault,  Luxem- 
burg, and  the  country  of  the  Batavians,  and  they  formed  the  best 
cavalry  of  the  Roman  armies,  as  well  as  their  choicest  light  infantry 
force.  The  Batavians  also  signalized  themselves  on  many  occasions 
by  the  skill  with  which  they  swam  across  several  great  rivers  with- 
out breaking  their  squadrons'  ranks.  They  were  amply  rewarded 
for  their  military  services  and  hazardous  exploits,  and  were  treated 
like  stanch  and  valuable  allies.  But  this  unequal  connection  of  a 
mighty  empire  with  a  few  petty  states  must  have  been  fatal  to  the 
liberty  of  the  weaker  party.  Its  first  effect  was  to  destroy  all 
feeling  of  nationality  in  a  great  portion  of  the  population.  The 
young  adventurer  of  this  part  of  the  Low  Countries,  after  twenty 
years  of  service  under  the  imperial  eagles,  returned  to  his  native 
wilds  a  Roman.  The  generals  of  the  empire  pierced  the  forests 
of  the  Ardennes  with  causeways,  and  founded  towns  in  the  heart 
of  the  country.  The  result  of  such  innovations  was  a  total  amalga- 
mation of  the  Romans  and  their  new  allies,  and  little  by  little  the 
national  character  of  the  latter  became  entirely  obliterated. 

But  it  must  be  remarked  that  this  metamorphosis  affected  only 
the  inhabitants  of  the  high  grounds  and  the  Batavians  (who  were 


BEFORE     THE     FRANKS  1 

60   B.C.  -  250  A.D. 

in  their  origin  Germans)  properly  so  called.  The  scanty  popula- 
tion of  the  rest  of  the  country,  endowed  with  that  fidelity  to  their 
ancient  customs  which  characterizes  the  Saxon  race,  showed  no 
tendency  to  mix  with  foreigners,  rarely  figured  in  their  ranks,  and 
seemed  to  revolt  from  the  southern  refinement  which  was  so  little 
in  harmony  with  their  manners  and  ways  of  life.  It  is  astonishing, 
at  the  first  view,  that  those  beings,  whose  whole  existence  was  a 
contest  against  famine  or  the  waves,  should  show  less  repugnance 
than  their  happier  neghbors  to  receive  from  Rome  an  abundant 
recompense  for  their  services.  This  race  of  patriots  was  divided 
into  two  separate  peoples.  Those  to  the  north  of  the  Rhine  were 
the  Prisons ;  those  to  the  west  of  the  Meuse,  the  Menapians,  already 
mentioned. 

The  Prisons  differed  little  from  those  early  inhabitants  of 
the  coast,  who,  perched  on  their  high-built  huts,  fed  on  fish  and 
drank  the  water  of  the  clouds.  Slow  and  successive  improvements 
taught  them  to  cultivate  the  beans  which  grew  wild  among  the 
marshes,  and  to  tend  and  feed  a  small  and  degenerate  breed  of 
horned  cattle.  But  if  these  first  steps  toward  civilization  were  slow, 
they  were  also  sure;  and  they  were  made  by  a  race  of  men  who 
could  never  retrograde  in  a  career  once  begun. 

The  Menapians,  equally  repugnant  to  foreign  impressions, 
made  on  their  parts  a  more  rapid  progress.  They  were  already 
a  maritime  people,  and  carried  on  a  considerable  commerce  with 
England.  It  appears  that  they  exported  thither  salt,  the  art  of 
manufacturing  which  was  well  known  to  them ;  and  they  brought 
back  in  return  marl,  a  most  important  commodity  for  the  improve- 
ment of  their  land.  They  also  understood  the  preparation  of 
salting  meat,  with  a  perfection  that  made  it  in  high  repute  even  in 
Italy ;  and,  finally,  we  are  told  by  Ptolemy  that  they  had  established 
a  colony  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Ireland,  not  far  from  Dublin. 

The  two  classes  of  what  forms  at  present  the  population  of  the 
Netherlands  thus  followed  careers  widely  different  during  the  long 
period  of  the  Roman  power  in  these  parts  of  Europe.  While  those 
of  the  highlands  and  the  Batavians  distinguished  themselves  by  a 
long-continued  course  of  military  service  or  servitude,  those  of  the 
plains  improved  by  degrees  their  social  condition  and  fitted  them- 
selves for  a  place  in  civilized  Europe.  The  former  received  from 
Rome  great  marks  of  favor  in  exchange  for  their  freedom.  The 
latter,  rejecting  the  honors  and  distinctions  lavished  on  their  neigh- 


8 


HOLLAND     AND 


BELGIUM 

50  B.C.  ■  250  A.D. 

bors,  secured  their  national  independence  by  trusting  to  their  in- 
dustry alone  for  all  the  advantages  they  gradually  acquired. 

Were  the  means  of  protecting  themselves  and  their  country 
from  the  inundations  of  the  sea  known  and  practiced  by  these 
ancient  inhabitants  of  the  coast,  or  did  they  occupy  only  those 
elevated  points  of  land  which  stood  out  like  islands  in  the  middle 
of  the  floods?     These  questions  are  among  the  most  important 


presented  by  their  history,  since  it  was  the  victorious  struggle  of 
man  against  the  ocean  that  fixed  the  extent  and  form  of  the 
country.  It  appears  almost  certain  that  dikes  were  unknown  in  the 
time  of  Caesar.  But  as  early  as  I2  B.C.  Drusus,  the  son  of  the 
Emperor  Augustus,  began  the  construction  of  dikes  and  canals 
north  of  the  Rhine;  and  ruins  of  ancient  towns  of  Roman  con- 
struction have  more  than  once  been  discovered  in  places  later  over- 
flowed by  the  sea.     It  is,  then,  certain  that  they  had  learned  to 


BEFORE     THE     FRANKS  9 

50   B.C.  -  250  A.D. 

imitate  those  who  ruled  in  the  neighboring  countries:  a  result 
by  no  means  surprising,  for  even  England,  the  mart  of  their  ccwn- 
merce  and  the  nation  with  which  they  had  the  most  constant  inter- 
course, was  at  that  period  occupied  by  the  Romans.  But  the  nature 
of  their  country  repulsed  so  effectually  every  attempt  at  foreign 
domination  that  the  conquerors  of  the  world  left  them  unmolested 
and  established  arsenals  and  formed  communications  with  Great 
Britain  only  at  Boulogne  and  in  the  island  of  the  Batavians  near 
Leyden. 

This  isolation  formed  in  itself  a  powerful  and  perfect  barrier 
between  the  inhabitants  of  the  plain  and  those  of  the  high  grounds. 
The  first  held  firm  to  their  primitive  customs  and  their  ancient 
language;  the  second  finished  by  speaking  Latin  and  borrowing 
all  the  manners  and  usages  of  Italy.  The  moral  effect  of  this  con- 
trast was  that  the  people  once  so  famous  for  their  bravery  lost, 
with  their  liberty,  their  energy  and  their  courage.  One  of  the 
Batavian  chieftains,  named  Civilis,  formed  an  exception  to  this 
degeneracy,  and  about  the  year  70  of  our  era  bravely  took  up  arms 
for  the  expulsion  of  the  Romans.  He  effected  prodigies  of  valor 
and  perseverance,  and  boldly  met  and  defeated  the  enemy  both  by 
land  and  sea.  Reverses  followed  his  first  success,  and  he  finally 
concluded  an  honorable  treaty,  by  which  his  countrymen  once 
more  became  the  allies  of  Rome.  But  after  this  expiring  effort  of 
valor  the  Batavians,  even  though  chosen  from  all  nations  for  the 
bodyguards  of  the  Roman  emperors,  became  rapidly  degenerate; 
and  when  Tacitus  wrote,  ninety  years  after  Christ,  they  were 
already  looked  on  as  less  brave  than  the  Prisons  and  the  other 
people  beyond  the  Rhine. 

Reduced  to  a  Roman  province,  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Netherlands  was  at  this  period  called  Belgic  Gaul;  and  the  name 
of  Belgium,  preserved  to  our  days,  has  always  been  applied  to 
distinguish  that  country  situated  to  the  south  of  the  Rhine  and  the 
Meuse,  an  independent  kingdom  since  1831. 

During  the  establishment  of  the  Roman  power  in  the  north 
of  Europe  observation  was  not  much  excited  toward  the  rapid 
effects  of  this  degeneracy,  compared  with  the  fast-growing  vigor 
of  the  people  of  the  lowlands.  The  fact  of  the  Prisons  having 
on  one  occasion  near  the  year  47  of  our  era  beaten  a  whole  army 
of  Romans,  had  confirmed  their  character  for  intrepidity.  But 
the  long  stagnation  produced  in  these  remote  countries    by    the 


10  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

50  B.C.  -  250  A.D. 

colossal  weight  of  the  empire  was  broken  about  the  year  250  by  an 
irruption  of  Germans  or  Salian  Franks,  who,  passing  the  Rhine 
and  the  Meuse,  established  themselves  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Me- 
napians,  near  Antwerp,  Breda,  and  Bois-le-duc.  All  the  nations 
that  had  been  subjugated  by  the  Roman  power  appear  to  have 
taken  arms  on  this  occasion  and  opposed  the  intruders.  But  the 
Menapians  united  themselves  with  these  newcomers,  and  aided  them 
to  meet  the  shock  of  the  imperial  armies.  Carausius,  originally  a 
Menapian  pilot,  but  promoted  to  the  command  of  a  Roman  fleet, 
made  common  cause  with  his  fellow-citizens,  and  proclaimed  him- 
self emperor  of  Great  Britain,  where  the  naval  superiority  of  the 
Menapians  left  him  no  fear  of  a  competitor.  In  recompense  of 
the  assistance  given  him  by  the  Franks,  he  crossed  the  sea  again 
from  his  new  empire,  to  aid  them  in  their  war  with  the  Batavians, 
the  allies  of  Rome;  and  having  seized  on  their  island,  and  mas- 
sacred nearly  the  whole  of  its  inhabitants,  he  there  established  his 
faithful  friends  the  Salians.  Constantius  and  his  son  Constantine 
the  Great  vainly  strove,  even  after  the  death  of  the  brave  Carausius, 
to  regain  possession  of  the  country,  but  they  were  forced  to  leave 
the  new  inhabitants  in  quiet  possession  of  their  conquest. 


CHAPTER   II 
STRUGGLE   OF   FRANKS    AND    SAXONS.    250-800  AD. 

FROM  this  epoch  we  must  trace  the  progress  of  a  totally 
new  and  distinct  population  in  the  Netherlands.  The 
Batavians  being  annihilated,  almost  without  resistance,  the 
Low  Countries  contained  only  the  free  people  of  the  German  race. 
But  these  people  did  not  agree  entirely  with  each  other  so  as  to 
form  one  consolidated  nation.  The  Salians  and  the  other  petty 
tribes  of  Franks,  their  allies,  were  essentially  warlike,  and  appeared 
precisely  the  same  as  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  high  grounds. 
The  Menapians  and  the  Frisons,  on  the  contrary,  lost  nothing  of 
their  spirit  of  commerce  and  industry.  The  result  of  this  diversity 
was  a  separation  between  the  Franks  and  the  Menapians.  While 
the  latter,  under  the  name  of  Armoricans,  joined  themselves  more 
closely  with  the  people  who  bordered  the  Channel,  the  Frisons  as- 
sociated themselves  with  the  tribes  settled  on  the  limits  of  the 
German  Ocean  and  formed  with  them  a  connection  celebrated 
under  the  title  of  the  Saxon  League.  Thus  was  formed  on  all 
points  a  union  between  the  maritime  races  against  the  inland  in- 
habitants, and  their  mutual  antipathy  became  more  and  more  de- 
veloped as  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire  ended  the  former 
struggle  between  liberty  and  conquest. 

The  Netherlands  now  became  the  earliest  theater  of  an  entirely 
new  movement,  the  consequences  of  which  were  destined  to  aflfect 
the  whole  world.  This  country  was  occupied  toward  the  sea  by 
a  people  wholly  maritime,  excepting  the  narrow  space  between  the 
Rhine  and  the  Waal,  of  which  the  Salian  Franks  had  become 
possessed.  The  nature  of  this  marshy  soil,  in  comparison  with  the 
sands  of  Westphalia,  Guelders,  and  North  Brabant,  was  not  more 
strikingly  contrasted  than  was  the  character  of  their  population. 
The  Franks,  who  had  been  for  a  while  under  the  Roman  sway, 
showed  a  compound  of  the  violence  of  savage  life  and  the 
corruption  of  civilized  society.  They  were  covetous  and  treach- 
erous, but  made  excellent  soldiers;  and  at  this  epoch,  which  inter- 

11 


12  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

250-800  A.D. 

vened  between  the  power  of  imperial  Rome  and  that  of  Ger- 
many, the  Frank  might  be  morally  considered  as  a  borderer  on  the 
frontiers  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Saxon  (and  this  name  com- 
prehends all  the  tribes  of  the  coast  from  the  Rhine  as  far  north  as 
Denmark),  uniting  in  himself  the  distinctive  qualities  of  German 
and  navigator,  was  moderate  and  sincere,  but  implacable  in  his 
rage.  Neither  of  these  two  races  of  men  were  excelled  in  point 
of  courage,  but  the  number  of  Franks  who  still  entered  into  the 
service  of  the  Empire  diminished  the  real  force  of  this  nation, 
and  naturally  tended  to  disunite  it.  Therefore,  in  the  subsequent 
shock  of  people  against  people,  the  Saxons  invariably  gained  the 
final  advantage. 

They  had  no  doubt  often  measured  their  strength  in  the  most 
remote  times,  since  the  Franks  were  but  the  descendants  of  the 
ancient  tribes  of  Sicambri  and  others  against  whom  the  Batavians 
had  offered  their  assistance  to  Caesar.  Under  Augustus  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  coast  had  in  the  same  way  joined  themselves  with 
Drusus,  to  oppose  these  their  old  enemies.  It  was  also  after  having 
been  expelled  by  the  Frisons  from  Guelders  that  the  Salians  had 
passed  the  Rhine  and  the  Meuse,  but  in  the  fourth  century  the  two 
people  recovering  their  strength,  the  struggle  recommenced,  never 
to  terminate — at  least  between  the  direct  descendants  of  each.  It 
is  believed  that  it  was  the  Chamari,  a  race  of  Saxons  nearly  con- 
nected with  those  of  England,  who  on  this  occasion  struck  the  de- 
cisive blow  on  the  side  of  the  Saxons.  Embarking  on  board  a 
numerous  fleet,  they  made  a  descent  in  the  ancient  isle  of  the 
Batavians,  at  that  time  inhabited  by  the  Salians,  whom  they  com- 
pletely destroyed.  Julian  the  Apostate,  the  last  of  the  pagan  em- 
perors, who  was  then  with  a  numerous  army  pursuing  his  career 
of  early  glory  in  these  countries,  interfered  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
venting the  expulsion,  or  at  least  the  utter  destruction,  of  the 
vanquished,  but  his  efforts  were  unavailing.  The  Salians  appear 
to  have  figured  no  more  in  this  part  of  the  Low  Countries. 

The  defeat  of  the  Franks  was  fatal  to  the  peoples  of  Gaul  who 
had  become  incorporated  with  the  Romans,  for  it  was  from  them 
that  the  exiled  wanderers,  still  fierce  in  their  ruin,  and  with  arms 
in  their  hands,  demanded  lands  and  herds — all,  in  short,  which 
they  themselves  had  lost.  From  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century 
to  the  end  of  the  fifth  there  was  a  succession  of  invasions  in  this 
spirit,  which  always  ended  by  the  subjugation  of  a  part  of  tht 


FRANKS     AND     SAXONS  IS 

250-800  A.D. 

country;  and  which  was  completed  about  the  year  490,  by  Clovis 
making  himself  master  of  almost  the  whole  of  Gaul.  Under  this 
new  empire  not  a  vestige  of  the  ancient  nations  of  the  Ardennes 
was  left.  The  civilized  population  either  perished  or  was  reduced 
to  slavery,  and  all  the  high  grounds  were  added  to  the  previous 
conquests  of  the  Salians. 

But  the  maritime  population,  when  once  possessed  of  the  whole 
coast,  did  not  seek  to  make  the  slightest  progress  toward  the  in- 
terior. The  element  of  their  enterprise  and  the  object  of  their 
ambition  was  the  ocean ;  and  when  this  hardy  and  intrepid  race 
became  too  numerous  for  their  narrow  limits,  expeditions  and 
colonies  beyond  the  sea  carried  off  their  redundant  population.  The 
Saxon  warriors  established  themselves  near  the  mouths  of  the 
Loire,  others  settled  in  Great  Britain.  It  will  always  remain  prob- 
lematical from  what  point  of  the  coast  these  adventurers  departed ; 
but  many  circumstances  tend  to  give  weight  to  the  opinion  which 
pronounces  those  old  Saxons  to  have  started  from  the  Netherlands. 

Paganism  not  being  yet  banished  from  these  countries,  the 
obscurity  which  would  have  enveloped  them  is  in  some  degree  dis- 
pelled by  the  recitals  of  the  monks  who  went  among  them  to  preach 
Christianity.  We  see  in  those  records,  and  by  the  text  of  some 
of  their  early  laws,  that  this  maritime  people  were  more  industrious, 
prosperous,  and  happy  than  those  of  France.  The  men  were  hand- 
some and  richly  clothed,  and  the  land  well  cultivated,  and  abound- 
ing in  fruits,  milk,  and  honey.  The  Saxon  merchants  carried  their 
trade  far  into  the  southern  countries.  In  the  meantime  the  parts 
of  the  Netherlands  which  belonged  to  France  resembled  a  desert. 
The  monasteries  which  were  there  founded  were  established,  ac- 
cording to  the  words  of  their  charters,  amid  immense  solitudes,  and 
the  Frankish  nobles  only  came  into  Brabant  for  the  sport  of  bear- 
hunting  in  its  interminable  forests.  Thus  while  the  inhabitants  of 
the  lowlands  as  far  back  as  the  light  of  history  penetrates  appear  in 
a  continual  state  of  improvement,  those  of  the  high  grounds,  after 
frequent  vicissitudes,  seem  to  sink  into  utter  degeneracy  and  subju- 
gation. The  latter  wished  to  denationalize  themselves  and  become 
as  though  they  were  foreigners  even  on  their  native  soil ;  the  former 
remained  firm  and  faithful  to  their  country  and  to  each  other. 

But  the  growth  of  Frankish  power  menaced  utter  ruin  to  this 
interesting  race.  Clovis  had  succeeded,  about  the  year  485  of 
our  era,  in  destroying  the  last  remnants  of  Roman  domination  in 


14  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

250-800  A.D. 

Gaul.  His  successors  soon  extended  their  empire  from  the  Pyr- 
enees to  the  Rhine.  They  had  continual  contests  with  the  free 
population  of  the  Low  Countries  and  their  nearest  neighbors.  In 
the  commencement  of  the  seventh  century  the  French  king, 
Clothaire  II.,  exterminated  the  chief  part  of  the  Saxons  of  Hanover 
and  Westphalia ;  and  the  historians  of  those  barbarous  times  unani- 
mously relate  that  he  caused  to  be  beheaded  every  inhabitant  of  the 
vanquished  tribes  who  exceeded  the  height  of  his  sword.  The 
Saxon  name  was  thus  nearly  extinguished  in  those  countries,  and 
the  remnant  of  these  various  people  adopted  that  of  Prisons 
(Friesen),  either  because  they  became  really  incorporated  with 
that  nation  or  merely  that  they  recognized  it  for  the  most  powerful 
of  their  tribes.  Friesland,  to  speak  in  the  language  of  that  age, 
extended  then  from  the  Scheldt  to  the  Weser,  and  formed  a  con- 
siderable state.  But  the  ascendancy  of  the  Franks  was  every  year 
becoming  more  marked,  and  King  Dagobert  extended  the  limits 
of  their  power  even  as  far  as  Utrecht.  The  descendants  of  the 
Menapians,  known  at  that  epoch  by  the  different  names  of  Mena- 
pians,  Flemings,  and  Toxandrians,  fell  one  after  another  directly 
or  indirectly  under  the  empire  of  the  Merovingian  princes;  and 
the  noblest  family  which  existed  among  the  French — that  which 
subsequently  took  the  name  of  Carolingians — comprised  in  its 
dominions  nearly  the  whole  of  the  southern  and  western  parts  of 
the  Netherlands. 

Between  this  family,  whose  chief  was  called  Duke  of  the  Fron- 
tier Marshes  (Dux  BrabanticB),  and  the  free  tribes,  united  under 
the  common  name  of  Frisons,  the  same  struggle  was  maintained  as 
that  which  formerly  existed  between  the  Salians  and  the  Saxons. 
Toward  the  year  700  the  French  monarchy  was  torn  by  anarchy, 
and  under  "the  lazy  kings"  lost  much  of  its  concentrated  power; 
but  every  dukedom  formed  an  independent  sovereignty,  and  of  all 
these  that  of  Brabant  was  the  most  redoubtable.  Nevertheless  the 
Frisons,  under  their  king,  Radbod,  assumed  for  a  moment  the  supe- 
riority; and  Utrecht,  where  the  French  had  established  Christi- 
anity, fell  again  into  the  power  of  the  pagans.  Charles  Martel, 
at  that  time  young  and  but  commencing  his  splendid  career,  was 
defeated  by  the  hostile  king  in  the  forest  of  the  Ardennes,  and 
though  in  subsequent  conquests  he  took  an  ample  revenge,  Radbod 
still  remained  a  powerful  opponent.  It  is  related  of  this  fierce 
monarch  that  he  was  converted  by  a  Christian  missionary,  but  at 


FRANKS    AND     SAXONS  16 

250-800  A.D. 

the  moment  in  which  he  put  his  foot  in  the  water  for  the  ceremony 
of  baptism  he  suddenly  asked  the  priest  where  all  his  old  Prison 
companions  in  arms  had  gone  after  their  death  ?  "  To  hell,"  replied 
the  priest.  "  Well,  then,"  said  Radbod,  drawing  back  his  foot 
from  the  water,  "  I  would  rather  go  to  hell  with  them,  than  to 
paradise  with  you  and  your  fellow  foreigners ! "  and  he  refused 
to  receive  the  rites  of  baptism,  and  remained  a  pagan.^ 

After  the  death  of  Radbod  in  179  a.d.  Charles  Martel,  now 
duke  of  the  Franks,  mayor  of  the  palace  (or  by  whatever  other 
of  his  several  titles  he  may  be  distinguished),  finally  triumphed 
over  the  long-resisting  Prisons.  He  labored  to  establish  Christian- 
ity among  them,  but  they  did  not  understand  the  Prankish  language, 
and  the  lot  of  converting  them  was  consequently  reserved  for  the 
English.  St.  Willebrod  was  the  first  missionary  who  met  with 
any  success,  about  the  latter  end  of  the  sexenth  century ;  but  it  was 
not  till  toward  the  year  750  that  this  great  mission  was  finally 
accomplished  by  St.  Boniface,  Archbishop  of  Mainz  and  the 
apostle  of  Germany.  Yet  the  progress  of  Christianity  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  foreign  sway  still  met  the  partial  resistance  which 
a  conquered  but  not  enervated  people  are  always  capable  of  op- 
posing to  their  masters.  St.  Boniface  fell  a  victim  to  this  stubborn 
spirit.  He  perished  a  martyr  to  his  zeal,  but  perhaps  a  victim  as 
well  to  the  violent  measures  of  his  colleagues,  in  Priesland,  the 
very  province  which  to  this  day  preserves  the  name. 

The  last  avenger  of  Priesland  liberty  and  of  the  national  idols 
was  the  illustrioufe  Witikind,  to  whom  the  chronicles  of  his  coun- 
try give  the  title  of  first  azing,  or  judge.  This  intrepid  chieftain 
is  considered  as  a  compatriot,  not  only  by  the  historians  of  Pries- 
land, but  by  those  of  Saxony;  both,  it  would  appear,  having  equal 
claims  to  the  honor,  for  the  union  between  the  two  people  was 
constantly  strengthened  by  intermarriages  between  the  noblest 
families  of  each.  As  fong  as  Witikind  remained  a  pagan  and  a 
freeman  some  doubt  existed  as  to  the  final  fate  of  Priesland;  but 
when  by  his  conversion  he  became  only  a  noble  of  the  court  of 
Charlemagne,  the  slavery  of  his  country  was  consummated. 

^  This  story  is  also  told  of  other  pagan  warriors. 


CHAPTER  III 
RISE   OF  THE   COUNTS.    800-1018 

EVEN  at  this  advanced  epoch  of  foreign  domination  there 
remained  as  great  a  difference  as  ever  between  the  people 
of  the  high  grounds  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  plain.  The 
latter  were,  like  the  rest,  incorporated  with  the  great  monarchy, 
but  they  preserved  the  remembrance  of  former  independence,  and 
even  retained  their  ancient  names.  In  Flanders  Menapians  and 
Flemings  were  still  found,  and  in  the  country  of  Antwerp  the 
Toxandrians  were  not  extinct.  All  the  rest  of  the  coast  was  still 
called  Friesland.  But  in  the  high  grounds  the  names  of  the  old 
inhabitants  were  lost.  Nations  were  designated  by  the  names  of 
their  rivers,  forests,  or  towns.  They  were  classified  as  accessories 
to  inanimate  things;  and  having  no  monuments  which  reminded 
them  of  their  origin,  they  became,  as  it  were,  without  recollections 
or  associations,  and  degenerated,  almost  it  may  be  said,  into  a 
people  without  ancestry. 

The  physical  state  of  the  country  had  greatly  changed  from 
the  times  of  Caesar  to  those  of  Charlemagne.  Many  parts  of  the 
forest  of  the  Ardennes  had  been  cut  down  or  cleared  away.  Civ- 
ilization had  only  appeared  for  awhile  among  these  woods,  to  perish 
like  a  delicate  plant  in  an  ungenial  clime;  but  it  seemed  to  have 
sucked  the  very  sap  from  the  soil  and  to  have  left  the  people  no 
remains  of  the  vigor  of  man  in  his  savage  state  nor  of  the  desperate 
courage  of  the  warriors  of  Germany.  A  race  of  serfs  now  culti- 
vated the  domains  of  haughty  lords  and  imperious  priests.  The 
clergy  had  immense  possessions  in  this  country — an  act  of  the 
following  century  recognizes  fourteen  thousand  families  of  vassals 
as  belonging  to  the  single  abbey  of  Nivelle.  Tournay  and  Ton- 
gres,  both  episcopal  cities,  were  for  that  reason  somewhat  less  op- 
pressed than  the  other  ancient  towns  founded  by  the  Romans,  but 
they  appear  to  have  possessed  but  a  poor  and  degraded  population. 

The  lowlands,  on  the  other  hand,  announced  a  striking  com- 

16 


RISE     OF     THE     COUNTS  17 

800-1018 

mencement  of  improvement  and  prosperity.  The  marshes  and 
fens  which  had  arrested  and  repulsed  the  progress  of  imperial 
Rome  had  disappeared  in  every  part  of  the  interior.  The  Meuse 
and  the  Scheldt  no  longer  joined  at  their  outlets  to  desolate  the 
neighboring  lands,  whether  this  change  was  produced  by  the  labors 
of  man  or  merely  by  the  accumulation  of  sand  deposited  by  either 
stream  and  forming  barriers  to  both.  The  towns  of  Courtrai, 
Bruges,  Ghent,  Antwerp,  Berg-op-Zoom,  and  Thiel  had  already  a 
flourishing  trade.  The  last-mentioned  town  contained  in  the  fol- 
lowing century  fifty-five  churches,  a  fact  from  which,  in  the  absence 
of  other  evidence,  the  extent  of  the  population  may  be  conjectured. 
The  formation  of  dikes  for  the  protection  of  lands  formerly  sub- 
merged was  already  well  understood  and  regulated  by  uniform 
custom.  The  plains  thus  reconquered  from  the  waters  were  dis- 
tributed in  portions,  according  to  their  labor,  by  those  who  re- 
claimed them,  except  the  parts  reserved  for  the  chieftain,  the 
church,  and  the  poor.  This  vital  necessity  for  the  construction  of 
dikes  had  given  to  the  Prison  and  Flemish  population  a  particular 
habit  of  union,  good-will,  and  reciprocal  justice,  because  it  was 
necessary  to  make  common  cause  in  this  great  work  for  their 
mutual  preservation.  In  all  other  points  the  detail  of  the  laws 
and  manners  of  this  united  people  presents  a  picture  similar  to  that 
of  the  Saxons  of  England,  with  the  sole  exception  that  the  people 
of  the  Netherlands  were  milder  than  the  Saxon  race  properly  so 
called — their  long  habit  of  laborious  industry  exercising  its  happy 
influence  on  the  martial  spirit  original  to  both.  The  manufactur- 
ing arts  were  also  somewhat  more  advanced  in  this  part  of  the 
Continent  than  in  Great  Britain.  The  Prisons,  for  example,  were 
the  only  people  who  could  succeed  in  making  the  costly  mantles  in 
use  among  the  wealthy  Franks. 

The  government  of  Charlemagne  admitted  but  one  form,  bor- 
rowed from  that  of  the  empire  in  the  period  of  its  decline — a 
mixture  of  the  spiritual  and  temporal  powers,  exercised  in  the  first 
place  by  the  emperor,  and  at  second  hand  by  the  counts  and  bishops. 
The  counts  in  those  times  were  not  the  heads  of  noble  families,  as 
they  afterward  became,  but  ofiicers  of  the  government,  remov- 
able at  will,  and  possessing  no  hereditary  rights.  Their  incomes 
did  not  arise  from  salaries  paid  in  money,  but  consisted  of  lands,  of 
which  they  had  the  revenues  during  the  continuance  of  their  au- 
thority.   These  lands  being  situated  in  the  limits  of  their  adminis- 


la  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

800-1018 

tration,  each  regarded  them  as  his  property  only  for  the  time 
being,  and  considered  himself  as  a  tenant  at  will.  How  unfavorable 
such  a  system  was  to  culture  and  improvement  may  be  well  im- 
agined. The  force  of  possession  was,  however,  frequently  opposed 
to  the  seignorial  rights  of  the  crown;  and  thus,  though  all  civil 
dignity  and  the  revenues  attached  to  it  were  but  personal  and  re- 
claimable  at  will,  still  many  dignitaries,  taking  advantage  of  the 
barbarous  state  of  the  country  in  which  their  isolated  cantons  were 
placed,  sought  by  every  possible  means  to  render  their  power  and 
prerogative  unalienable  and  real.  The  force  of  the  monarchical 
government,  which  consists  mainly  in  its  centralization,  was  nec- 
essarily weakened  by  the  intervention  of  local  obstacles,  before  it 
could  pass  from  the  heart  of  the  empire  to  its  limits.  Thus  it  was 
only  by  perpetually  interposing  his  personal  efforts  and  flying,  as 
it  were,  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  his  dominions  that  Charle- 
magne succeeded  in  preserving  his  authority.  As  for  the  people, 
without  any  sort  of  guarantee  against  the  despotism  of  the  govern- 
ment, they  were  utterly  at  the  mercy  of  the  nobles  or  of  the  sov- 
ereign. But  this  state  of  servitude  was  quite  incompatible  with 
the  union  of  social  powers  necessary  to  a  population  that  had  to 
struggle  against  the  tyranny  of  the  ocean.  To  repulse  its  attacks 
with  successful  vigor  a  spirit  of  complete  concert  was  absolutely 
required;  and  the  nation  being  thus  united,  and  consequently 
strong,  the  efforts  of  foreign  tyrants  were  shattered  by  its  re- 
sistance, as  the  waves  of  the  sea  that  broke  against  the  dikes  by 
which  it  was  defied. 

From  the  time  of  Charlemagne  the  people  of  the  ancient 
Menapia,  now  become  a  prosperous  commonwealth,  formed  po- 
litical associations  to  raise  a  barrier  against  the  despotic  violence 
of  the  Franks.  These  associations  were  called  Gilden,  and  in  the 
Latin  of  the  times  Gildonia.  They  comprised,  besides  their  cove- 
nants for  mutual  protection,  an  obligation  which  bound  every  mem- 
ber to  give  succor  to  any  other,  in  cases  of  illness,  conflagration, 
or  shipwreck.  But  the  growing  force  of  these  social  compacts 
alarmed  the  quick-sighted  despotism  of  Charlemagne,  and  they 
were  consequently  prohibited  both  by  him  and  his  successors.  This 
popular  organization  took,  however,  another  form  in  the  northern 
parts  of  the  country,  which  still  bore  the  common  name  of  Fries- 
land;  for  there  it  was  not  merely  local,  but  national.  The  Frisons 
succeeded  in  obtaining  the  sanction  of  the  monarch  to  concentrate. 


I 


RISE     OF    THE    COUNTS  19 

800-1018 

as  it  were,  those  rights  which  were  estabHshed  under  the  ancient 
forms  of  government. 

These  rights,  which  the  Prisons  secured,  according  to  their 
own  statements,  from  Charlemagne,  but  most  undoubtedly  from 
some  one  or  other  of  the  earliest  emperors,  consisted,  first,  in  the 
freedom  of  every  order  of  citizens ;  secondly,  in  the  right  of  prop- 
erty,— a  right  which  admitted  no  authority  of  the  sovereign  to 
violate  by  confiscation,  except  in  cases  of  downright  treason; 
thirdly,  in  the  privilege  of  trial  by  none  but  native  judges,  and 
according  to  their  national  usages ;  fourthly,  in  a  very  narrow  limi- 
tation of  the  military  services  which  they  owed  to  the  king;  fifthly, 
in  the  hereditary  title  to  feudal  property,  in  direct  line,  on  pay- 
ment of  certain  dues  or  rents.  These  five  principal  articles  sufficed 
to  render  Friesland  in  its  political  aspect  totally  different  from  the 
other  portions  of  the  monarchy.  Their  privileges  secured,  their 
property  inviolable,  their  duties  limited,  the  Prisons  were  alto- 
gether free  from  the  servitude  which  weighed  down  Prance.  It 
will  soon  be  seen  that  these  special  advantages  produced  a  govern- 
ment nearly  analogous  to  that  which  Magna  Charta  was  the  means 
of  founding  at  a  later  period  in  England, 

The  successors  of  Charlemagne  chiefly  signalized  their  au- 
thority by  lavishing  donations  of  all  kinds  on  the  church.  By  such 
means  the  ecclesiastical  power  became  greater  and  greater,  and 
in  those  countries  under  the  sway  of  Prance  was  quite  as  arbitrary 
and  enormous  as  that  of  the  nobility.  The  bishops  of  Utrecht, 
Liege,  and  Tournay  became  in  the  course  of  time  the  chief  person- 
ages on  that  line  of  the  frontier.  They  had  the  great  advantage 
over  the  counts  of  not  being  subjected  to  capricious  or  tyrannical 
removals.  They  therefore,  even  in  civil  affairs,  played  a  more 
considerable  part  than  the  latter;  and  began  to  render  themselves 
more  and  more  independent  in  their  episcopal  cities,  which  were 
soon  to  become  so  many  principalities.  The  counts,  on  their  parts, 
used  their  best  exertions  to  wear  out,  if  they  had  not  the  strength 
to  break,  the  chains  which  bound  them  to  the  footstool  of  the  mon- 
arch. They  were  not  all  now  dependent  on  the  same  sovereign, 
for  the  empire  of  Charlemagne  was  divided  among  his  successors. 
Prance,  properly  so  called,  was  bounded  by  the  Scheldt;  the  coun- 
try to  the  eastward  of  that  river,  that  is  to  say,  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  Netherlands,  belonged  first  to  Lorraine,  then  to  the  Ger- 
man kingdom. 


JW  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

800-1018 

In  this  state  of  things  it  happened  that  in  the  year  864  Judith, 
daughter  of  Charles  the  Bald,  King  of  France,  having  survived 
her  husband  Ethelwolf,  King  of  England,  became  attached  to  a 
powerful  Flemish  chieftain  called  Baldwin.  It  is  not  quite  certain 
whether  he  was  count,  forester,  marquis,  or  protector  of  the  fron- 
tiers, but  he  certainly  enjoyed,  no  matter  under  what  title,  consid- 
erable authority  in  the  country,  since  the  Pope  on  one  occasion 
wrote  to  Charles  the  Bald  to  beware  of  offending  him,  lest  he  should 
join  the  Normans  and  open  to  them  an  entrance  into  France.  He 
carried  off  Judith  to  his  possessions  in  Flanders.  The  king  her 
father,  after  many  ineffectual  threats,  was  forced  to  consent  to 
their  union,  and  confirmed  to  Baldwin,  with  the  title  of  count,  the 
hereditary  government  of  all  the  country  between  the  Scheldt  and 
the  Somme,  a  river  of  Picardy.  This  was  the  commencement  of 
the  celebrated  country  of  Flanders ;  and  this  Baldwin  is  designated 
in  history  by  the  surname  of  Bras-de-fer  (Iron-handed),  to  which 
his  courage  had  justly  entitled  him. 

The  Belgian  historians  are  also  desirous  of  placing  about  this 
epoch  the  first  counts  of  Hainault,  and  even  of  Holland.  But 
though  it  may  be  true  that  the  chief  families  of  each  canton  sought 
then,  as  at  all  times,  to  shake  off  the  yoke,  the  epoch  of  their  inde- 
pendence can  only  be  fixed  at  the  later  period  at  which  they  ob- 
tained or  enforced  the  privilege  of  not  being  deprived  of  their  titles 
and  their  feudal  estates.  The  counts  of  the  high  grounds  and  those 
of  Friesland  enjoyed  at  the  utmost  but  a  fortuitous  privilege  of 
continuance  in  their  rank.  Several  foreigners  had  gained  a  foot- 
ing and  an  authority  in  the  country,  among  others  Wickmand, 
from  whom  descended  the  chatelains  of  Ghent,  and  the  counts  of 
Holland,  and  Heriold,  a  Norman  prince  who  had  been  banished 
from  his  own  country.  This  name  of  Normans,  hardly  known 
before  the  time  of  Charlemagne,  soon  became  too  celebrated.  It 
designated  the  pagan  inhabitants  of  Denmark,  Norway,  and 
Sweden,  who,  driven  by  rapacity  and  want,  infested  the  neighbor- 
ing seas.  The  asylum  allowed  in  the  dominions  of  the  emperors 
to  some  of  those  exiled  outlaws,  and  the  imprudent  provocations 
given  by  these  latter  to  their  adventurous  countrymen,  attracted 
various  bands  of  Norman  pirates  to  the  shores  of  Guelders;  and 
from  desultory  descents  upon  the  coast  they  soon  came  to  inun- 
date the  interior  of  the  country.  Flanders  alone  successfully  re- 
sisted them  during  the  life  of  Baldwin  Bras-de-fer,  but  after  the 


RISE     OF     THE     COUNTS  21 

800-1018 

death  of  this  brave  chieftain  there  was  not  a  province  of  the  whole 
country  that  was  not  ravaged  by  these  invaders.  Their  multiplied 
expeditions  threw  back  the  Netherlands  at  least  two  centuries,  if, 
indeed,  any  calculation  of  the  kind  may  be  fairly  formed  respecting 
the  relative  state  of  population  and  improvement  on  the  imperfect 
data  that  are  left  us.  Several  cantons  became  deserted.  The  chief 
cities  were  reduced  to  heaps  of  ruins.  The  German  emperors 
vainly  interposed  for  the  relief  of  their  unfortunate  vassals.  Finally, 
an  agreement  was  entered  into,  in  the  year  882,  with  Godfrey, 
the  king  or  leader  of  the  Normans,  by  which  a  peace  was  purchased 
on  condition  of  paying  him  a  large  subsidy  and  ceding  to  him  the 
government  of  Friesland.  But  in  about  two  years  from  this  period 
the  fierce  barbarian  began  to  complain  that  the  country  he  had  thus 
gained  did  not  produce  grapes,  and  the  immediate  inspiration  of  his 
rapacity  seemed  to  be  the  blooming  vineyards  of  France.  The 
emperor,  Charles  the  Fat,  anticipating  the  consequences  of  a  rup- 
ture with  Godfrey,  enticed  him  to  an  interview,  in  which  he  caused 
him  to  be  assassinated.  His  followers,  attacked  on  all  points  by 
the  people  of  Friesland,  perished  almost  to  a  man;  and  their 
destruction  was  completed  in  891  by  the  German  king,  Arnulf. 
From  that  period  the  scourge  of  Norman  depredation  became  gradu- 
ally less  felt.  They  now  made  but  short  and  desultory  attempts  on 
the  coast,  and  their  last  expedition  appears  to  have  taken  place 
about  the  year  1000,  when  they  threatened,  but  did  not  succeed  in 
seizing  on,  the  city  of  Utrecht. 

It  is  remarkable  that  although  for  the  space  of  150  years 
the  Netherlands  were  continually  the  scene  of  invasion  and  devas- 
tation by  these  northern  barbarians,  the  political  state  of  the  coun- 
try underwent  no  important  changes.  The  emperors  of  Germany 
were  sovereigns  of  the  whole  country,  with  the  exception  of 
Flanders.  These  portions  of  the  empire  were  still  called  Lorraine, 
as  well  as  all  which  they  possessed  of  what  is  now  called  France, 
and  which  was  that  part  forming  the  appanage  of  Lothaire,  the 
grandson  of  Charlemagne,  and  of  the  Lotheringian  kings.  The 
great  difficulty  of  maintaining  subordination  among  the  numerous 
chieftains  of  this  country  caused  it,  in  958,  to  be  divided  into  two 
governments,  which  were  called  Higher  and  Lower  Lorraine.  The 
latter  portion  comprised  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Netherlands,  which 
thus  became  governed  by  a  lieutenant  of  the  emperors.  Grodfrey, 
Count  of  Ardenne,  was  the  first  who  filled  this  place ;  and  he  soon 


ftSt  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

800-1018 

felt  all  the  perils  of  the  situation,  for  the  other  counts  saw,  with  a 
jealous  eye,  their  equal  now  promoted  into  a  superior. 

The  emperor,  Otho  II.,  who  upheld  the  authority  of  his  lieu- 
tenant, Godfrey,  became  convinced  that  the  imperial  power  was  too 
weak  to  resist  singly  the  opposition  of  the  nobles  of  the  country. 
He  had  therefore  transferred,  about  the  year  980,  the  title  of  duke 
to  a  young  prince  of  the  royal  house  of  France;  and  we  thus  see 
the  duchy  of  Lower  Lorraine  governed,  in  the  name  of  the  emperor, 
by  the  last  two  shoots  of  the  branch  of  Charlemagne,  the  Dukes 
Charles  and  Otho  of  France,  son  and  grandson  of  Louis  d'Outre- 
mer.  The  first  was  a  gallant  prince,  and  he  may  be  looked  on  as 
the  founder  of  the  greatness  of  Brussels,  where  he  fixed  his  resi- 
dence. After  the  death  of  his  brother,  Lothaire,  the  last  Carlovin- 
gian  king  of  France,  Charles  struggled  in  vain  against  the  rising 
power  of  Hugh  Capet.  After  some  successes  he  was  at  length 
treacherously  surprised,  and  died  in  prison.  Otho,  his  son,  did  not 
signalize  his  name  nor  justify  his  descent  by  any  memorable  action, 
and  in  him  ingloriously  perished  the  name  of  the  Carlovingians. 

The  death  of  Otho  set  the  emperor  and  the  great  vassals  once 
more  in  opposition.  The  German  monarch  insisted  on  naming 
some  creature  of  his  own  to  the  dignity  of  duke;  but  Lambert  II., 
Count  of  Louvain,  and  Robert,  Count  of  Namur,  having  married 
the  sisters  of  Otho,  respectively  claimed  the  right  of  inheritance 
to  his  title.  Baldwin  of  the  Comely  Beard,  Count  of  Flanders, 
joined  himself  to  their  league,  hoping  to  extend  his  power  to  the 
eastward  of  the  Scheldt.  And  in  fact  the  emperor,  as  the  only 
means  of  disuniting  his  too  powerful  vassals,  felt  himself  obliged 
to  cede  Valenciennes  and  the  islands  of  Zealand  to  Baldwin.  The 
imperial  power  thus  lost  ground  at  every  struggle. 

Amid  the  confusion  of  these  events  a  power  well  calculated  to 
rival  or  even  supplant  that  of  the  fierce  counts  was  growing  up. 
Many  circumstances  were  combined  to  extend  and  consolidate  the 
episcopal  sway.  It  is  true  that  the  bishops  of  Tournay  had  no  tem- 
poral authority  since  the  period  of  their  city's  being  ruined  by  the 
Normans.  But  those  of  Liege  and  Utrecht,  and  more  particularly 
the  latter,  had  accumulated  immense  possessions;  and  their  power 
being  inalienable,  they  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  caprices  of 
sovereign  favor,  which  so  often  ruined  the  families  of  the  aristoc- 
racy. Those  bishops,  who  were  warriors  and  huntsmen  rather 
than  ecclesiastics,  possessed,  however,  in  addition  to  the  lance  and 


RISE     OF     THE    COUNTS  ftS 

800-1018 

the  sword,  the  terrible  artillery  of  excommunication  and  anathema, 
which  they  thundered  forth  without  mercy  against  every  laical 
opponent.  And,  at  the  same  time,  when  they  succeeded  in  acquiring 
new  dominions  and  additional  store  of  wealth,  they  could  not  por- 
tion it  among  their  children,  like  the  nobles,  but  it  devolved  to  their 
successors,  who  thus  became  more  and  more  powerful,  and  gained 
by  degrees  an  authority  almost  royal,  like  that  of  the  ecclesiastical 
elector  of  Germany. 

Whenever  the  emperor  warred  against  his  lay  vassals  he  was 
sure  of  assistance  from  the  bishops,  because  they  were  at  all  times 
jealous  of  the  power  of  the  counts,  and  had  much  less  to  gain  from 
an  alliance  with  them  than  with  the  imperial  despots  on  whose 
donations  they  throve,  and  who  repaid  their  efforts  by  new  priv- 
ileges and  extended  possessions.  So  that  when  the  monarch  at 
length  lost  the  superiority  in  his  contests  with  the  counts,  little  was 
wanting  to  merge  his  authority  altogether  in  the  power  of  the 
churchmen.  Nevertheless,  a  first  effort  of  the  Bishop  of  Liege  to 
seize  on  the  rights  of  the  Count  of  Louvain,  in  1013,  met  with  a 
signal  defeat,  in  a  battle  which  took  place  at  the  little  village  of 
Stongarde.  And  five  years  later  the  count  of  the  Friesland  marshes 
gave  a  still  more  severe  lesson  to  the  Bishop  of  Utrecht.  This  last 
merits  a  more  particular  mention,  from  the  nature  of  the  quarrel 
and  the  importance  of  its  results. 


Chapter   IV 

DECLINE   OF   FEUDALISM    AND    GROWTH    OF   THE 
TOWNS.     1018-1384 

THE  district  in  which  Dordrecht  is  situated,  and  the 
grounds  in  its  environs  which  are  at  present  submerged, 
formed  in  those  times  an  island  just  raised  above  the 
waters,  and  which  was  called  Holland  or  Holtland  (which  means 
wooded  land,  or,  according  to  some,  hollow  land).  The  formation 
of  this  island,  or  rather  its  recovery  from  the  waters,  being  only 
of  recent  date,  the  right  to  its  possession  was  more  disputable  than 
that  of  long-established  countries.  All  the  bishops  and  abbots 
whose  states  bordered  the  Rhine  and  the  Meuse  had,  being  equally 
covetous  and  grasping  and  mutually  resolved  to  pounce  on  the  prey, 
made  it  their  common  property.  A  certain  Count  Dirk,  descended 
from  the  counts  of  Ghent,  governed  about  this  period  the  western 
extremity  of  Friesland — the  country  which  now  forms  the  province 
of  Holland,  and  with  much  difficulty  maintained  his  power  against 
the  Prisons,  by  whom  his  right  was  not  acknowledged.  Beaten 
out  of  his  own  territories  by  these  refractory  insurgents,  he  sought 
refuge  in  the  ecclesiastical  island,  where  he  intrenched  himself  and 
founded  a  town  which  is  believed  to  have  been  the  origin  of 
Dordrecht,  now  reputed  to  be  the  oldest  town  in  the  Netherlands. 
This  Count  Dirk,  like  all  the  feudal  lords,  took  advantage  of 
his  position  to  establish  and  levy  certain  duties  on  all  the  vessels 
which  sailed  past  his  territory,  dispossessing  in  the  meantime  some 
vassals  of  the  church,  and  beating,  as  we  have  stated,  the  Bishop 
of  Utrecht  himself.  Complaints  and  appeals  without  number  were 
laid  at  the  foot  of  the  imperial  throne.  Godfrey  of  Eenham,  whom 
the  emperor  had  created  Duke  of  Lower  Lorraine,  was  commanded 
to  call  the  whole  country  to  arms.  The-  Bishop  of  Liege,  though 
actually  dying,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  expedition,  to  revenge 
his  brother  prelate  and  punish  the  audacious  spoiler  of  the  church 
property.  But  Dirk  and  his  fierce  Prisons  took  Godfrey  prisoner 
and  cut  his  army  in  pieces.  The  victor  had  the  good  sense  and 
moderation  to  spare  his  prisoners,  and  set  them  free  without  ran- 

3* 


GROWTH    OP    TOWNS  «5 

1018-1384 

som.  He  received  in  return  an  imperial  amnesty;  and  from  that 
period  the  Count  of  Holland  and  his  posterity  formed  a  barrier 
ag-ainst  which  the  ecclesiastical  power  and  the  remains  of  the  im- 
perial supremacy  continually  struggled,  only  to  be  shattered  in  each 
new  assault.^ 

Amid  such  scenes  of  feudal  anarchy  the  Duchy  of  Lorraine 
was  crumbling  away  on  every  side.  At  the  same  time  Flanders 
under  its  able  counts  g^rew  more  and  more  powerful  and  extensive. 
In  the  year  1066  this  state,  even  then  flourishing  and  powerful, 
furnished  assistance  both  in  men  and  ships  to  William  the  Bastard, 
of  Normandy,  for  the  conquest  of  England.  William  was  son-in- 
law  to  Count  Baldwin,  and  recompensed  the  assistance  of  his 
wife's  father  by  an  annual  payment  of  three  hundred  silver  marks. 
It  was  Mathilda,  the  Flemish  princess  and  wife  of  the  conqueror, 
who  worked  with  her  own  hands  the  celebrated  tapestry  of  Bayeux, 
on  which  is  embroidered  the  whole  history  of  the  Conquest,  and 
which  is  the  most  curious  monument  of  the  state  of  the  arts  in 
that  age. 

Flanders  acquired  a  positive  and  considerable  superiority  over 
all  the  other  parts  of  the  Netherlands  from  the  first  establishment  of 
its  counts  or  earls.  The  descendants  of  Baldwin  Bras-de-fer,  after 
having  valiantly  repulsed  the  Normans  toward  the  end  of  the 
ninth  century,  showed  themselves  worthy  of  ruling  over  an  indus- 
trious and  energetic  people.  They  had  built  towns,  cut  down  and 
cleared  away  forests,  and  reclaimed  inundated  lands;  above  all 
things  they  had  understood  and  guarded  against  the  danger  of 
parceling  out  their  states  at  every  succeeding  generation,  and  the 
county  of  Flanders  passed  entire  into  the  hands  of  the  first-born 
of  the  family.  The  stability  produced  by  this  state  of  things  had 
allowed  the  people  to  prosper.  The  Normans  now  visited  the 
coasts,  not  as  enemies,  but  as  merchants;  and  Bruges  became  the 
mart  of  the  booty  acquired  by  these  bold  pirates  in  England  and 
on  the  high  seas.  The  fisheries  had  begun  to  acquire  an  importance 
sufficient  to  establish  the  herring  as  one  of  the  chief  aliments  of  the 
population.  Maritime  commerce  had  made  such  strides  that  Spain 
and  Portugal  were  well  known  to  both  sailors  and  traders,  and 
the  voyage  from  Flanders  to  Lisbon  was  estimated  at  fifteen  days' 
sail.     Woolen  stuffs  formed  the  principal  wealth  of  the  country, 

*  John  Egtnont,  an  old  chronicler,  says  that  the  counts  of  Holland  were 
"a  sword  in  the  flanks  of  the  bishops  of  Utrecht." 


«6  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1018-1384 

but  salt,  corn,  and  jewelry  were  also  important  branches  of  traffic; 
while  the  youth  of  Flanders  were  so  famous  for  their  excellence  in 
all  martial  pursuits,  that  foreign  sovereigns  were  at  all  times  de- 
sirous of  obtaining  bodies  of  troops  from  this  nation. 

The  greatest  part  of  Flanders  was  attached,  as  has  been  seen, 
to  the  King  of  France,  and  not  to  Lorraine;  but  the  dependence 
was  little  more  than  nominal.  In  1071  the  King  of  France  at- 
tempted to  exercise  his  authority  over  the  country  by  naming  to 
the  government  the  Countess  Richilde,  who  had  received  Hainault 
and  Namur  for  her  dower,  and  who  was  left  a  widow,  with  sons 
still  in  their  minority.  The  people  assembled  in  the  principal 
towns  and  protested  against  this  intervention  of  the  French  mon- 
arch. But  we  must  remark  that  it  was  only  the  population  of  the 
lowlands  (whose  sturdy  ancestors  had  ever  resisted  foreign  domina- 
tion) that  now  took  part  in  this  opposition.  The  vassals  which 
the  Counts  of  Flanders  possessed  in  the  Gallic  provinces  (the  high 
grounds),  and  in  general  all  the  nobility,  pronounced  strongly  for 
submission  to  France,  for  the  principles  of  political  freedom  had 
not  yet  been  fixed  in  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  of  those  parts  of 
the  country.  But  the  lowlanders  joined  together  under  Robert 
surnamed  the  Frisian,  brother  of  the  deceased  count,  and  they  so 
completely  defeated  the  French,  the  nobles  and  their  unworthy 
associates  of  the  high  ground  that  they  despoiled  the  usurping 
Countess  Richilde  of  even  her  hereditary  possessions.  In  this  war 
perished  the  celebrated  Norman,  William  Fitz-Osborn,  who  had 
flown  to  the  succor  of  the  defeated  countess,  of  whom  he  was 
enamored. 

Robert  the  Frisian,  not  satisfied  with  having  beaten  the  King 
of  France  and  the  Bishop  of  Liege,  restored  in  1076  the  grand- 
son of  Count  Dirk  of  Holland  in  the  possessions  which  had  been 
forced  from  him  by  the  Duke  of  Lower  Lorraine,  in  the  name  of 
the  emperor  and  the  Bishop  of  Utrecht :  so  that  it  was  this  valiant 
chieftain  who,  above  all  others,  is  entitled  to  the  praise  of  having 
successfully  opposed  the  system  of  foreign  domination  on  all  the 
principal  points  of  the  country.  Four  years  later  Otho  of  Nassau 
was  the  first  to  unite  in  one  county  the  various  cantons  of  Guelders. 
Finally,  in  1086,  Henry  of  Louvain  joined  to  his  title  that  of  Count 
of  Brabant,  and  from  this  period  the  country  was  partitioned  pretty 
nearly  as  it  was  destined  to  remain  for  several  centuries. 

In  the  midst  of  this  gradual  organization  of  the  various  coun- 


GROWTH     OF    TOWNS  «7 

1018-1384 

ties,  history  for  some  time  loses  sight  of  those  Prisons,  the  mari- 
time people  of  the  north,  who  took  little  part  in  the  civil  wars  of 
two  centuries.  But  still  there  was  no  portion  of  Europe  which  at 
that  time  offered  a  finer  picture  of  social  improvement  than  these 
damp  and  unhealthful  coasts.  The  name  of  Prisons  extended  from 
the  Weser  to  the  westward  of  the  Zuyder  Zee,  but  not  quite  to  the 
Rhine;  and  it  became  usual  to  consider  no  longer  as  Prisons  the 
subjects  of  the  counts  of  Holland,  whom  we  may  now  begin  to  dis- 
tinguish as  Hollanders  or  Dutch.  The  Prison  race  alone  refused 
to  recognize  the  sovereign  counts.  They  boasted  of  being  self- 
governed,  owning  no  allegiance  but  to  the  emperor,  and  regarding 
the  counts  of  his  nomination  as  so  many  officers  charged  to  require 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  but  themselves  obliged  in  all 
things  to  respect  them.  But  the  counts  of  Holland,  the  bishops 
of  Utrecht,  and  several  German  lords,  dignified  from  time  to  time 
with  the  title  of  counts  of  Priesland,  insisted  that  it  carried  with  it 
a  personal  authority  superior  to  that  of  the  sovereign  they  repre- 
sented. The  descendants  of  Count  Dirk,  a  race  of  men  remark- 
ably warlike,  were  the  most  violent  in  this  assumption  of  power. 
Defeat  after  defeat,  however,  punished  their  obstinacy,  and  num- 
bers of  those  princes  met  death  on  the  pikes  of  their  Prison  op- 
ponents. The  latter  had  no  regular  leaders,  but  at  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  the  inhabitants  of  each  canton  flew  to  arms,  like  the 
members  of  a  single  family;  and  all  the  feudal  forces  brought 
against  them  failed  to  subdue  this  popular  militia. 

The  frequent  result  of  these  collisions  was  the  refusal  of  the 
Prisons  to  recognize  any  authority  whatever  but  that  of  the  national 
judges.  Each  canton  was  governed  according  to  its  own  laws.  If 
a  difficulty  arose,  the  deputies  of  the  nation  met  together  on  the 
borders  of  the  Ems,  in  a  place  called  "  the  Trees  of  Upstal  "  (  Up- 
stall-hoomen),  where  three  old  oaks  stood  in  the  middle  of  an 
immense  plain.  In  this  primitive  council  place  chieftains  were 
chosen,  who,  on  swearing  to  maintain  the  laws  and  oppose  the 
common  enemy,  were  invested  with  a  limited  and  temporary 
authority. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Priesland  possessed  any  large  towns, 
with  the  exception  of  Staveren.  In  this  respect  the  Prisons  re- 
sembled those  ancient  Germans  who  had  a  horror  of  shutting  them- 
selves up  within  walls.  They  lived  in  a  way  completely  patriarchal, 
dwelling  in  isolated  cabins  and  with  habits  of  the  utmost  frugality. 


ftS  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1018-1384 

We  read  in  one  of  their  old  histories  that  a  whole  convent  of  Bene- 
dictines was  terrified  at  the  voracity  of  a  German  sculptor  who  was 
repairing  their  chapel.  They  implored  him  to  look  elsewhere  for 
his  food,  because  he  and  his  sons  consumed  enough  to  exhaust  the 
whole  stock  of  the  monastery. 

In  no  part  of  Europe  was  the  mass  of  the  people  so  vigorously 
opposed  to  the  interests  of  Catholicism  in  those  days.  The  Prisons 
successfully  resisted  the  payment  of  tithes,  and  as  a  punishment 
(according  to  the  monkish  chronicles)  the  sea  inflicted  upon  them 
repeated  inundations.  They  forced  their  priests  to  marry.  They 
acknowledged  no  ecclesiastical  decree,  if  secular  judges,  double  the 
number  of  the  priests,  did  not  bear  a  part  in  it,  and  in  such  fashion 
interpreted  a  spirit  of  liberty  which  actuated  them  in  calling  them- 
selves Vry-Vriesen,  Free-Frisons. 

The  eleventh  century  had  been  for  the  Netherlands  (with  the 
exception  of  Friesland  and  Flanders)  an  epoch  of  organization,  and 
had  nearly  fixed  the  political  existence  of  the  provinces,  which  were 
so  long  confounded  in  the  vast  possessions  of  the  empire.  It  is 
therefore  important  to  ascertain  under  what  influence  and  on  what 
basis  these  provinces  became  consolidated  at  that  period.  Holland 
and  Zealand,  animated  by  the  spirit  which  we  may  fairly  distinguish 
under  the  mingled  title  of  Saxon  and  maritime,  countries  scarcely  ac- 
cessible and  with  a  vigorous  population,  possessed,  in  the  descendants 
of  Dirk  I.,  a  race  of  national  chieftains  who  did  not  attempt  despotic 
rule  over  so  unconquerable  a  people.  In  Brabant  the  maritime  towns 
of  Berg-op-Zoom  and  Antwerp  formed,  in  the  Flemish  style, 
so  many  republics,  small  but  not  insignificant;  while  the  southern 
parts  of  the  province  were  under  the  sway  of  a  nobility  who  crushed, 
trampled  on,  or  sold  their  vassals  at  their  pleasure  or  caprice.  The 
bishopric  of  Liege  offered  also  the  same  contrast;  the  domains  of 
the  nobility  being  governed  with  the  utmost  harshness,  while  those 
prince-prelates  lavished  on  their  plebeian  vassals  privileges  which 
might  have  been  supposed  the  fruits  of  generosity  were  it  not  clear 
that  the  object  was  to  create  an  opposition  in  the  lower  orders 
against  the  turbulent  aristocracy,  whom  they  found  it  impossible  to 
manage  single-handed.  The  wars  of  these  bishops  against  the  petty 
nobles,  who  made  their  castles  so  many  depositories  of  robbers  and 
plunder,  were  thus  the  foundation  of  public  liberty.  But  in  all  the 
rest  of  the  Netherlands,  excepting  the  provinces  already  mentioned, 
no  form  of  government   existed  but  that  fierce   feudality  which 


GROWTH     OF     TOWNS  29 

1018-1384 

reduced  the  people  to  serfs  and  turned  the  social  state  of  man 
into  a  cheerless  waste  of  bondage. 

It  was  then  that  the  crusades,  with  wild  and  stirring"  fanaticism, 
agitated,  in  the  common  impulse  given  to  all  Europe,  even  those  little 
states  which  seemed  to  slumber  in  their  isolated  independence. 
Nowhere  did  the  voice  of  Peter  the  Hermit  find  a  more  sympa- 
thetic echo  than  in  these  lands,  still  desolated  by  so  many  intestine 
struggles.  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  Duke  of  Lower  Lorraine,  took  the 
lead  in  this  chivalric  and  religious  frenzy.  With  him  set  out  the 
Counts  of  Hainault  and  Flanders,  the  latter  of  whom  received  from 
the  English  crusaders  the  honorable  appellation  of  Fitz  St.  George. 
But  although  the  valor  of  all  these  princes  was  conspicuous  from 
the  foundation  of  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem  by  Godfrey  of  Bouillon 
in  1098  until  that  of  the  Latin  empire  of  Constantinople  by  Baldwin 
of  Flanders  in  1204,  still  the  simple  gentlemen  and  peasants  of 
Friesland  distinguished  themselves  no  less.  They  were  on  all 
occasions  the  first  to  mount  the  breach  or  lead  the  charge;  and  the 
Pope's  nuncio  found  himself  forced  to  prohibit  the  very  women  of 
Friesland  from  embarking  for  the  Holy  Land — so  anxious  were 
they  to  share  the  perils  and  glory  of  their  husbands  and  brothers  in 
combating  the  Saracens. 

The  outlet  given  by  the  crusades  to  the  overboiling  ardor  of 
these  warlike  countries  was  a  source  of  infinite  advantage  to  their 
internal  economy.  Under  the  rapid  progress  of  civilization  the 
population  increased  and  the  fields  were  cultivated.  The  nobility, 
reduced  to  moderation  by  the  enfeebling  consequences  of  extensive 
foreign  wars,  became  comparatively  impotent  in  their  attempted 
efforts  against  domestic  freedom.  Those  of  Flanders  and  Brabant 
also  were  almost  decimated  in  the  terrible  battle  of  Bouvines,  fought 
between  the  Emperor  Otho  and  Philip  Augustus,  King  of  France. 
On  no  occasion,  however,  had  this  reduced  but  not  degenerate  nobil- 
ity shown  more  heroic  valor.  The  Flemish  knights,  disdaining  to 
mount  their  horses  or  form  their  ranks  for  the  repulse  of  the  French 
cavalry,  composed  of  common  persons,  contemptuously  received 
their  shock  on  foot  and  in  the  disorder  of  individual  resistance. 
The  brave  Buridan  of  Ypres  led  his  comrades  to  the  fight  with  the 
chivalric  war-cry,  "  Let  each  now  think  of  her  he  loves !  "  But  the 
issue  of  this  battle  was  ruinous  to  the  Belgians,  in  consequence  of 
the  bad  generalship  of  the  emperor,  who  had  divided  his  army  into 
small  portions,  which  were  defeated  in  detail. 


30  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1018-1384 

While  the  nobility  thus  declined  the  towns  began  rapidly  to 
develop  the  elements  of  popular  force.  In  1120  a  Flemish  knight 
who  might  descend  so  far  as  to  marry  a  woman  of  the  plebeian  ranks 
incurred  the  penalty  of  degradation  and  servitude.  In  1220  scarcely 
a  serf  was  to  be  found  in  all  Flanders.  In  1300  the  chiefs  of  the 
gilden,  or  trades,  were  more  powerful  than  the  nobles.  These  dates 
and  these  facts  must  suffice  to  mark  the  epoch  at  which  the  great 
mass  of  the  nation  arose  from  the  wretchedness  in  which  it  was 
plunged  by  the  Norman  invasion  and  acquired  sufficient  strength 
and  freedom  to  form  a  real  political  force.  But  it  is  remarkable 
that  the  same  results  took  place  in  all  the  counties  or  dukedoms  of 
the  Lowlands  precisely  at  the  same  period.  In  fact,  if  we  start 
from  the  year  1200  on  this  interesting  inquiry  we  shall  see  the 
commons  attacking,  in  the  first  place  the  petty  feudal  lords  and  next 
the  counts  and  the  dukes  themselves,  as  often  as  justice  was  denied 
them.  In  1257  the  peasants  of  Holland  and  the  burghers  of  Utrecht 
proclaimed  freedom  and  equality,  drove  out  the  bishop  and  the  nobles 
and  began  a  memorable  struggle  which  lasted  full  two  hundred 
years.  In  1260  the  townspeople  of  Flanders  appealed  to  the  King 
of  France  against  the  decrees  of  their  count,  who  ended  the  quarrel 
by  the  loss  of  his  county.  In  1303  Mechlin  and  Louvain,  the  chief 
towns  of  Brabant,  expelled  the  patrician  families.  A  coincidence 
like  this  cannot  be  attributed  to  trifling  or  partial  causes,  such  as  the 
misconduct  of  a  single  count  or  other  local  evil,  but  to  a  great  gen- 
eral movement  in  the  popular  mind,  the  progress  of  agriculture  and 
industry  in  the  whole  country,  superinducing  an  increase  of  wealth 
and  intelligence,  which,  when  unrestrained  by  the  influence  of  a 
corrupt  government,  must  naturally  lead  to  the  liberty  and  the 
happiness  of  a  people. 

The  weaving  of  woolen  and  linen  cloths  was  one  of  the  chief 
sources  of  this  growing  prosperity.  A  prodigious  quantity  of  cloth 
and  linen  was  manufactured  in  all  parts  of  the  Netherlands.  The 
maritime  prosperity  acquired  an  equal  increase  by  the  carrying  trade, 
both  in  imports  and  exports.  Whole  fleets  of  Dutch  and  Flemish 
merchant  ships  repaired  regularly  to  the  coasts  of  Spain  and  Lan- 
guedoc.  Flanders  was  already  become  the  great  market  for  England 
and  all  the  north  of  Europe. 

Legislation  naturally  followed  the  movements  of  those  positive 
and  material  interests.  The  earliest  of  the  towns  after  the  invasion 
of  the  Normans  were  in  some  degree  but  places  of  refuge.    It  was 


GROWTH    OF    TOWNS  81 

1018-1384 

soon,  however,  established  that  the  regular  inhabitants  of  these  bul- 
warks of  the  country  should  not  be  subjected  to  any  servitude  beyond 
their  care  and  defense,  but  the  citizen  who  might  absent  himself 
for  a  longer  period  than  forty  days  was  considered  a  deserter  and 
deprived  of  his  rights.  It  was  about  the  year  i  lOO  that  the  commons 
began  to  possess  the  privilege  of  regulating  their  internal  affairs. 
They  appointed  their  judges  and  magistrates  and  attached  to  their 
authority  the  old  custom  of  ordering  all  the  citizens  to  assemble  or 
march  when  the  summons  of  the  feudal  lord  sounded  the  signal  for 
their  assemblage  or  service.  By  this  means  each  municipal  magis- 
tracy had  the  disposal  of  a  force  far  superior  to  those  of  the  nobles, 
for  the  population  of  the  towns  exceeded  both  in  number  and  disci- 
pline the  vassals  of  the  seignorial  lands.  And  these  trained  bands 
of  the  towns  made  war  in  a  way  very  different  from  that  hitherto 
practiced,  for  the  chivalry  of  the  country,  making  the  trade  of  arms 
a  profession  for  life,  the  feuds  of  the  chieftains  produced  hereditary 
struggles,  almost  always  slow  and  mutually  disastrous.  But  the 
townsmen,  forced  to  tear  themselves  from  every  association  of  home 
and  its  manifold  endearments,  advanced  boldly  to  the  object  of  the 
contest,  never  shrinking  from  the  dangers  of  war  from  fear  of  that 
still  greater  danger  to  be  found  in  a  prolonged  struggle. 

Evidence  was  soon  given  of  the  importance  of  this  new  nation 
when  it  became  forced  to  take  up  arms  against  enemies  still  more 
redoubtable  than  the  counts.  In  1301  the  Flemings,  who  had  aban- 
doned their  own  sovereign  to  attach  themselves  to  Philip  the  Fair, 
King  of  France,  began  to  repent  of  their  newly  formed  allegiance 
and  to  be  weary  of  the  master  they  had  chosen.  Two  citizens  of 
Bruges,  Peter  de  Koning,  a  draper,  and  John  Breydel,  a  butcher, 
put  themselves  at  the  head  of  their  fellow-townsmen  and  completely 
dislodged  the  French  troops  who  garrisoned  it.  The  following 
year  the  militia  of  Bruges  and  the  immediate  neighborhood  sus- 
tained alone,  at  the  battle  of  Courtrai,  the  shock  of  one  of  the  finest 
armies  that  France  ever  sent  into  the  field.  Victory  soon  declared 
for  the  gallant  men  of  Bruges;  upwards  of  30(X)  of  the  French 
chivalry,  besides  common  soldiers,  were  left  dead  on  the  field.  In 
1304,  after  a  long  contested  battle,  the  Flemings  forced  the  King 
of  France  to  release  their  count,  whom  he  had  held  prisoner.  "  I 
believe  it  rains  Flemings !  "  said  Philip,  astonished  to  see  them 
crowd  on  him  from  all  sides  of  the  field.  But  this  multitude  of 
warriors,  always  ready  to  meet  the  foe,  were  provided  for  the  most 


$fb  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1018-1384 

part  by  the  towns.  In  the  seignorial  system  a  village  hardly  fur- 
nished more  than  four  or  five  men,  and  these  only  on  important 
occasions;  but  in  that  of  the  towns  every  citizen  was  enrolled  a 
soldier  to  defend  the  country  at  all  times. 

The  same  system  established  in  Brabant  forced  the  duke  of 
that  province  to  sanction  and  guarantee  the  popular  privileges  and 
the  superiority  of  the  people  over  the  nobility.  Such  was  the  result 
of  the  famous  contract  concluded  in  13 12  at  Cortenbergh,  by  which 
the  duke  created  a  legislative  and  judicial  assembly  to  meet  every 
twenty-one  days  for  the  provincial  business,  and  to  consist  of  four- 
teen deputies,  of  whom  only  four  were  to  be  nobles  and  ten  were 
chosen  from  the  people.  The  duke  was  bound  by  this  act  to  hold 
himself  in  obedience  to  the  legislative  decisions  of  the  council,  and 
renounced  all  right  of  levying  arbitrary  taxes  or  duties  on  the  state. 
Thus  were  the  local  privileges  of  the  people  by  degrees  secured  and 
ratified;  but  the  various  towns  making  common  cause  for  general 
liberty  became  strictly  united  together  and  progressively  extended 
their  influence  and  power.  The  confederation  between  Flanders 
and  Brabant  was  soon  consolidated.  The  burghers  of  Bruges,  who 
had  taken  the  lead  in  the  grand  national  union  and  had  been  the 
foremost  to  expel  the  foreign  force,  took  umbrage  in  1323  at  an 
arbitrary  measure  of  their  count,  Louis  (called  of  Cressy  by  post- 
humous nomination,  from  his  having  been  killed  at  that  celebrated 
fight),  by  which  he  ceded  to  the  Count  of  Namur,  his  great  uncle, 
the  port  of  Ecluse  and  authorized  him  to  levy  duties  there  in  the 
style  of  the  feudal  lords  of  the  high  country.  It  was  but  the  affair 
of  a  day  to  the  intrepid  citizens  to  attack  the  fortress  of  Ecluse, 
carry  it  by  assault  and  take  prisoner  the  old  Count  of  Namur.  They 
destroyed  in  a  short  time  almost  all  the  strong  castles  of  the  nobles 
throughout  the  province,  and  having  been  joined  by  all  the  towns 
of  western  Flanders,  they  finally  made  prisoners  Count  Louis  him- 
self, with  almost  the  whole  of  the  nobility  who  had  taken  refuge 
with  him  in  the  town  of  Courtrai.  But  Ghent,  actuated  by  the  jeal- 
ousy which  at  all  times  existed  between  it  and  Bruges,  stood  aloof 
at  this  crisis.  The  latter  town  was  obliged  to  come  to  a  compromise 
with  the  count,  who  soon  afterward,  on  a  new  quarrel  breaking  out 
and  supported  by  the  King  of  France,  almost  annihilated  his  sturdy 
opponents  at  the  battle  of  Cassel,  where  the  Flemish  infantry,  com- 
manded by  Nicholas  Zannekin  and  others,  were  literally  cut  to  pieces 
by  the  French  knights  and  men-at-arms. 


GROWTH     OF     TOWNS  33 

1018-1384 

This  check  proved  the  absolute  necessity  of  union  among  the 
rival  cities.  Ten  years  after  the  battle  of  Cassel,  Ghent  set  the 
example  of  general  opposition ;  this  example  vi^as  promptly  follov^ed 
and  the  chief  towns  flew  to  arms.  The  celebrated  Jacob  van  Arta- 
velde,  commonly  called  the  Brewer  of  Ghent,  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  this  formidable  insurrection.  He  .was  a  man  of  dis- 
tinguished family,  who  had  himself  enrolled  among  the  guild  of 
brewers  to  entitle  him  to  occupy  a  place  in  the  corporation  of  Ghent, 
which  he  soon  succeeded  in  managing  and  leading  at  his  pleasure. 
The  tyranny  of  the  count  and  the  French  party  which  supported 
him  became  so  intolerable  to  Artavelde  that  he  resolved  to  assail 
them  at  all  hazards,  unappalled  by  the  fate  of  his  father-in-law, 
Sohier  de  Courtrai,  who  lost  his  head  for  a  similar  attempt,  and 
notwithstanding  the  hitherto  devoted  fidelity  of  his  native  city  to 
the  count.  One  object  only  seemed  insurmountable.  The  Flem- 
ings had  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  France,  and  they  revolted 
at  the  idea  of  perjury,  even  from  an  extorted  oath.  But  to  over- 
come their  scruples  Artavelde  proposed  to  acknowledge  the  claim 
of  Edward  HI.  of  England  to  the  French  crown.  The  Flemings 
readily  acceded  to  this  arrangement,  quickly  overwhelmed  Count 
Louis  of  Cressy  and  his  French  partisans,  and  then  joined,  with  an 
army  of  60,000  men,  the  English  monarch,  who  had  landed  at  Ant- 
werp. These  numerous  auxiliaries  rendered  Edward's  army  irre- 
sistible, and  soon  afterward  the  French  and  English  fleets,  both  of 
formidable  power,  but  the  latter  of  inferior  force,  met  near  Sluys 
and  engaged  in  a  battle  meant  to  be  decisive  of  the  war.  Victory 
remained  doubtful  during  an  entire  day  of  fighting,  until  a  Flemish 
squadron,  hastening  to  the  aid  of  the  English,  fixed  the  fate  of  the 
combat  by  the  utter  defeat  of  the  enemy. 

A  truce  between  the  two  kings  did  not  deprive  Artavelde  of  his 
well-earned  authority.  He  was  invested  with  the  title  of  ruward,  or 
conservator  of  the  peace,  of  Flanders,  and  governed  the  whole 
province  with  almost  sovereign  sway.  It  was  said  that  King 
Edward  used  familiarly  to  call  him  "  his  dear  gossip,"  and  it  is 
certain  that  there  was  not  a  feudal  lord  of  the  time  whose  power 
was  not  eclipsed  by  this  leader  of  the  people.  One  of  the  principal 
motives  which  cemented  the  attachment  of  the  Flemings  to  Arta- 
velde was  the  advantage  obtained  through  his  influence  with  Edward 
for  facilitating  the  trade  with  England,  whence  they  procured  the 
chief  supply  of  wool  for  their  manufactories.     Edward  promised 


34  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1018-1384 

them  70,000  sacks  as  the  reward  of  their  alliance.  Artavelde  per- 
ished in  1345  in  a  struggle  with  the  weavers  of  his  own  city.  But 
the  Flemings  held  firm,  nevertheless,  in  their  alliance  with  England, 
only  regulating  the  connection  by  a  steady  principle  of  national 
independence. 

Edward  knew  well  how  to  conciliate  and  manage  these  faithful 
and  important  auxiliaries  during  all  his  continental  wars.  A  Flem- 
ish army  covered  the  siege  of  Calais  in  1348,  and,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Giles  de  Rypergherste,  a  mere  weaver  of  Ghent,  they  beat 
the  dauphin  of  France  in  a  pitched  battle.  But  Calais  once  taken 
and  a  truce  concluded,  the  English  king  abandoned  his  allies.  These, 
left  wholly  to  their  own  resources,  forced  the  French  and  the  heir 
of  their  count,  young  Louis  de  Male,  to  recognize  their  right  to 
self-government  according  to  their  ancient  privileges,  and  of  not 
being  forced  to  give  aid  to  France  in  any  war  against  England. 
Flanders  may  therefore  be  pronounced  as  forming  at  this  epoch, 
both  in  right  and  fact,  a  truly  independent  principality. 

But  such  struggles  as  these  left  a  deep  and  immovable  senti- 
ment of  hatred  in  the  minds  of  the  vanquished.  Louis  de  Male 
longed  for  the  reestablishment  and  extension  of  his  authority,  and 
had  the  art  to  gain  over  to  his  views  not  only  all  the  nobles,  but 
many  of  the  most  influential  guilds  or  trades.  Ghent,  which  long 
resisted  his  attempts,  was  at  length  reduced  by  famine,  and  the  count 
projected  the  ruin,  or  at  least  the  total  subjection,  of  this  turbulent 
town.  Philip  Van  Artavelde,  a  son  of  Jacob,  started  forth  at  this 
juncture,  when  the  popular  cause  seemed  lost,  and  joining  with  his 
fellow-citizens,  John  Lyons  and  Peter  du  Bois,  he  led  7000  resolute 
burghers  against  40,000  feudal  vassals.  He  completely  defeated 
the  count  and  took  the  town  of  Bruges,  where  Louis  de  Male  only 
obtained  safety  by  hiding  himself  under  the  bed  of  an  old  woman 
who  gave  him  shelter.  Thus  once  more  feudality  was  defeated  in 
a  fresh  struggle  with  civic  freedom. 

The  consequences  of  this  event  were  immense.  They  reached 
to  the  very  heart  of  France,  where  the  people  bore  in  great  discon- 
tent the  feudal  yoke ;  and  Froissart  declares  that  the  success  of  the 
people  of  Ghent  had  nearly  overthrown  the  superiority  of  the  nobil- 
ity over  the  people  in  France.  But  the  king,  Charles  VL,  excited 
by  his  uncle,  Philip  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  took  arms  in 
support  of  the  defeated  count  and  marched  with  a  powerful  army 
against  the  rebellious  burghers.    Though  defeated  in  four  successive 


GROWTH    OF    TOWNS  86 

1018-1384 

combats,  in  the  last  of  which,  at  Roosbeke,  in  1382,  Artavelde  was 
killed,  the  Flemings  would  not  submit  to  their  imperious  count, 
who  used  every  persuasion  with  Charles  to  continue  his  assistance 
for  the  punishment  of  these  refractory  subjects.  But  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy  was  aware  that  a  too  great  perseverance  would  end  either 
in  driving  the  people  to  despair  and  the  possible  defeat  of  the  French 
or  the  entire  conquest  of  the  country  and  its  junction  to  the  crown 
of  France.  He,  being  son-in-law  to  Louis  de  Male  and  consequently 
aspiring  to  the  inheritance  of  Flanders,  saw  with  a  keen  glance 
the  advantage  of  a  present  compromise.  On  the  death,  in  1384,  of 
Louis,  who  is  stated  to  have  been  murdered  by  Philip's  brother,  the 
Duke  of  Berri,  he  concluded  a  peace  with  the  rebel  burghers  and 
entered  at  once  upon  the  sovereignty  of  the  country. 


Chapter  V 

POWER   OF  THE   HOUSE   OF   BURGUNDY.     1384-1506 

THUS  the  house  of  Burgundy,  which  soon  after  became  so 
formidable  and  celebrated,  obtained  this  vast  accession  to 
its  power.  The  various  changes  which  had  taken  place 
in  the  neighboring  provinces  during  the  continuance  of  these  civil 
wars  had  altered  the  state  of  Flanders  altogether.  John  d Avesnes, 
Count  of  Hainault,  having  also  succeeded  in  1299  to  the  county  of 
Holland,  the  two  provinces,  although  separated  by  Flanders  and 
Brabant,  remained  from  that  time  under  the  government  of  the  same 
chief,  who  soon  became  more  powerful  than  the  bishops  of  Utrecht, 
or  even  than  their  formidable  rivals,  the  Frisians. 

During  the  wars  which  desolated  these  opposing  territories  in 
consequence  of  the  perpetual  conflicts  for  superiority,  the  power  of 
the  various  towns  insensibly  became  at  least  as  great  as  that  of  the 
nobles  to  whom  they  were  constantly  opposed.  The  commercial 
interests  of  Holland  also  were  considerably  advanced  by  the  influx 
of  Flemish  merchants  forced  to  seek  refuge  there  from  the  convul- 
sions which  agitated  their  province.  Every  day  confirmed  and 
increased  the  privileges  of  the  people  of  Brabant,  while  at  Liege  the 
inhabitants  gradually  began  to  gain  the  upper  hand  and  to  shake  off 
the  former  subjection  to  their  sovereign  bishops. 

Although  Philip  of  Burgundy  became  Count  of  Flanders  by 
the  death  of  his  father-in-law,  in  the  year  1384,  it  was  not  till  the 
following  year  that  he  concluded  a  peace  with  the  people  of  Ghent 
and  entered  into  quiet  possession  of  the  province.  In  the  same  year 
the  Duchess  of  Brabant,  the  last  descendant  of  the  duke  of  that 
province,  died,  leaving  no  nearer  relative  than  the  Duchess  of  Bur- 
gundy, so  that  Philip  obtained  in  right  of  his  wife  this  new  and 
important  accession  to  his  dominions.  But  the  consequent  increase 
of  the  sovereign's  power  was  not,  as  is  often  the  case,  injurious  to 
the  liberties  or  happiness  of  the  people.  Philip  continued  to  govern 
in  the  interest  of  the  country,  which  he  had  the  good  sense  to  con- 
sider as  identified  with  his  own.  He  augmented  the  privileges  of 
the  towns  and  negotiated  for  the  return  into  Flanders  of  those  mer- 

3$ 


HOUSE     OF     BURGUNDY  S7 

1384-1404 

chants  who  had  emigrated  to  Germany  and  Holland  during  the 
continuance  of  the  civil  wars.  He  thus  by  degrees  accustomed  his 
new  subjects,  so  proud  of  their  rights,  to  submit  to  his  authority; 
and  his  peaceable  reign  was  only  disturbed  by  the  fatal  issue  of  the 
expedition  of  his  son,  John  the  Fearless,  Count  of  Nevers,  against 
the  Turks.  This  young  prince,  filled  with  ambition  and  temerity, 
was  offered  the  command  of  the  force  sent  by  Charles  HI.  of  France 
to  the  assistance  of  Sigismund  of  Hungary  in  his  war  against 
Bayazid.  Followed  by  a  numerous  body  of  nobles,  he  entered  on 
the  contest  and  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by  the  Turks  at 
the  battle  of  Nicopolis.  His  army  was  totally  destroyed  and  him- 
self only  restored  to  liberty  on  the  payment  of  an  immense  ransom. 

John  the  Fearless  succeeded  in  1404  to  the  inheritance  of  all 
his  father's  dominions,  with  the  exception  of  Brabant,  of  which  his 
younger  brother,  Anthony  of  Burgundy,  became  duke.  John,  whose 
ambitious  and  ferocious  character  became  every  day  more  strongly 
developed,  now  aspired  to  the  government  of  France  during  the 
insanity  of  his  cousin,  Charles  VI.  He  occupied  himself  little  with 
the  affairs  of  the  Netherlands,  from  which  he  only  desired  to  draw 
supplies  of  men.  But  the  Flemings,  taking  no  interest  in  his  personal 
views  or  private  projects,  and  equally  indifferent  to  the  rivalry  of 
England  and  France,  which  now  began  so  fearfully  to  afflict  the 
latter  kingdom,  forced  their  ambitious  count  to  declare  their  province 
a  neutral  country;  so  that  the  English  merchants  were  admitted  as 
usual  to  trade  in  all  the  ports  of  Flanders  and  the  Flemings  equally 
well  received  in  England,  while  the  duke  made  open  war  against 
Great  Britain  in  his  quality  of  a  prince  of  France  and  sovereign  of 
Burgundy.  This  is  probably  the  earliest  well-established  instance 
of  such  a  distinction  between  the  prince  and  the  people. 

The  spirit  of  constitutional  liberty  and  legal  equality  which 
now  animated  the  various  provinces  is  strongly  marked  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  time  by  two  striking  and  characteristic  incidents.  At 
the  death  of  Philip  the  Bold  his  widow  deposited  on  his  tomb  her 
purse  and  the  keys  which  she  carried  at  her  girdle  in  token  of 
marriage;  and  by  this  humiliating  ceremony  she  renounced  her 
rights  to  a  succession  overloaded  with  her  husband's  debts.  In  the 
same  year  (1404)  the  widow  of  Albert,  Count  of  Holland  and 
Hainault,  finding  herself  in  similar  circumstances,  required  of  the 
bailiff  of  Holland  and  the  judges  of  his  court  permission  to  make  a 
like  renunciation.    The  claim  was  granted,  and  to  fulfill  the  requisite 


dd  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1404-1416 

ceremony  she  walked  at  the  head  of  the  funeral  procession,  carry- 
ing in  her  hand  a  blade  of  straw,  which  she  placed  on  the  coffin.  We 
thus  find  that  in  such  cases  the  reigning  families  were  held  liable 
to  follow  the  common  usages  of  the  country.  From  such  instances 
there  required  but  little  progress  in  the  principle  of  equality  to  reach 
the  republican  contempt  for  rank,  which  made  the  citizens  of  Bruges 
in  the  following  century  arrest  their  count  for  his  private  debts. 

The  spirit  of  independence  had  reached  the  same  point  at 
Liege.  The  families  of  the  counts  of  Holland  and  Hainault,  which 
were  at  this  time  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Bavarian,  because 
they  were  only  descended  from  the  ancient  counts  of  Netherland  ex- 
traction in  the  female  line,  had  sufficient  influence  to  obtain  the  nom- 
ination to  the  bishopric  for  a  prince  who  was  at  the  period  in  his 
infancy.  John  of  Bavaria — for  so  he  was  called,  and  to  his  name 
was  afterwards  added  the  epithet  of  "  the  Pitiless  " — on  reaching 
his  majority  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  cause  himself  to  be  conse- 
crated a  priest,  but  governed  as  a  lay  sovereign.  The  indignant 
citizens  of  Liege  expelled  him  and  chose  another  bishop.  But  the 
houses  of  Burgundy  and  Bavaria,  closely  allied  by  intermarriages, 
made  common  cause  in  his  quarrel,  and  John  the  Fearless,  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  and  William  IV.,  Count  of  Holland  and  Hainault, 
brother  of  the  bishop,  replaced  by  force  this  cruel  and  unworthy 
prelate. 

This  union  of  the  government  over  all  the  provinces  in  two 
families  so  closely  connected  rendered  the  preponderance  of  the 
rulers  too  strong  for  that  balance  hitherto  kept  steady  by  the  popular 
force.  The  former  could  on  each  new  quarrel  join  together  and 
employ  against  any  particular  town  their  whole  united  resources, 
whereas  the  latter  could  only  act  by  isolated  efforts  for  the  main- 
tenance of  their  separate  rights.  Such  was  the  cause  of  a  considerable 
decline  in  public  liberty  during  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  true  that 
John  the  Fearless  gave  almost  his  whole  attention  to  his  French 
political  intrigues  and  to  the  fierce  quarrels  which  he  maintained 
with  the  house  of  Orleans.  But  his  nephew,  John,  Duke  of  Bra- 
bant, having  married,  in  141 6,  his  cousin  Jacqueline,  daughter  and 
heiress  of  William  IV.,  Count  of  Holland  and  Hainault,  this  branch 
of  the  house  of  Burgundy  seemed  to  get  the  start  of  the  elder  in  its 
progressive  influence  over  the  provinces  of  the  Netherlands.  The 
dukes  of  Guelders,  who  had  changed  their  title  of  counts  for  one  of 
superior  rank,  acquired  no  accession  of  power  proportioned  to  their 


HOUSE     OF     BURGUNDY  39 

1416-1420 

new  dignity.  The  bishops  of  Utrecht  became  by  degrees  weaker, 
private  dissensions  enfeebled  Friesland,  Luxemburg  was  a  poor, 
unimportant  dukedom,  but  Holland,  Hainault,  and  Brabant  formed 
the  very  heart  of  the  Netherlands,  while  the  elder  branch  of  the 
same  family,  under  whom  they  united,  possessed  Flanders,  Artois, 
and  the  two  Burgundies.  To  complete  the  prosperity  and  power  of 
this  latter  branch  it  was  soon  destined  to  inherit  the  entire  domin- 
ions of  the  other. 

A  fact  the  consequences  of  which  were  so  important  for  the 
whole  of  Europe  merits  considerable  attention,  but  it  is  most  diffi- 
cult to  explain  at  once  concisely  and  clearly  the  series  of  accidents, 
maneuvers,  tricks  and  crimes  by  which  it  was  accomplished.  It 
must  first  be  remarked  that  this  John  of  Brabant,  now  the  hus- 
band of  his  cousin  Jacqueline,  Countess  of  Holland  and  Hainault, 
possessed  neither  the  moral  nor  physical  qualities  suited  ta  mate 
with  the  most  lovely,  intrepid  and  talented  woman  of  her  times; 
nor  the  vigor  and  firmness  required  for  the  maintenance  of  an 
increased,  and  for  those  days  a  considerable,  dominion.  Jacqueline 
thoroughly  despised  her  insignificant  husband,  first  in  secret  and 
subsequently  by  those  open  avowals  forced  from  her  by  his  revolting 
combination  of  weakness,  cowardice,  and  tyranny.  He  tamely 
allowed  the  province  of  Holland  to  be  invaded  by  the  same  ungrate- 
ful Bishop  of  Liege,  John  the  Pitiless,  whom  his  wife's  father  and 
his  own  uncle  had  reestablished  in  his  justly  forfeited  authority. 
But  John  of  Brabant  revenged  himself  for  his  wife's  contempt  by  a 
series  of  domestic  persecutions  so  odious  that  the  states  of  Brabant 
interfered  for  her  protection.  Finding  it,  however,  impossible 
to  remain  in  a  perpetual  contest  with  a  husband  whom  she  hated 
and  despised,  she  fled  from  Brussels,  where  he  held  his  ducal  court, 
and  took  refuge  in  England,  under  the  protection  of  Henry  V., 
at  that  time  in  the  plenitude  of  his  fame  and  power. 

England  at  this  epoch  enjoyed  the  proudest  station  in  European 
affairs.  John  the  Fearless,  after  having  caused  the  murder  of  his 
rival,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  was  himself  assassinated  on  the  bridge 
of  Montereau  by  the  followers  of  the  dauphin  of  France,  and  in  his 
presence.  Philip,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  the  son  and  successor  of 
John,  had  formed  a  close  alliance  with  Henry  V.,  to  revenge  his 
father's  murder.  After  the  death  of  the  king  he  married  the  latter's 
sister,  and  thus  united  himself  still  more  nearly  to  the  celebrated 
John,  Duke  of  Bedford,  brother  of  Henry,  and  regent  of  France,  in 


40  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1420-1428 

the  name  of  his  infant  nephew,  Henry  VI.  But  besides  the  share 
on  which  he  reckoned  in  the  spoils  of  France,  Philip  also  looked 
with  a  covetous  eye  on  the  inheritance  of  Jacqueline,  his  cousin. 
As  soon  as  he  had  learned  that  this  princess,  so  well  received  in 
England,  was  taking  measures  for  having  her  marriage  annulled, 
to  enable  her  to  espouse  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  also  the  brother  of 
Henry  V.,  and  subsequently  known  by  the  appellation  of  "  the  Good 
Duke  Humphrey,"  he  was  tormented  by  a  double  anxiety.  He  in 
the  first  place  dreaded  that  Jacqueline  might  have  children  by  her 
marriage  with  Gloucester,  and  thus  deprive  him  of  his  right  of  suc- 
cession to  her  states ;  and  in  the  next  he  was  jealous  of  the  possible 
domination  of  England  in  the  Netherlands  as  well  as  in  France. 
He  therefore  soon  became  self-absolved  from  all  his  vows  of  revenge 
in  the  cause  of  his  murdered  father  and  labored  solely  for  the  object 
of  his  personal  aggrandizement.  To  break  his  connection  with 
Bedford,  to  treat  secretly  with  the  dauphin,  his  father's  assassin, 
or  at  least  the  witness  and  warrant  for  his  assassination,  and  to 
shuffle  from  party  to  party  as  occasion  required  were  movements  of 
no  difificulty  to  Philip,  surnamed  "  the  Good."  He  openly  espoused 
the  cause  of  his  infamous  relative,  Jobn  of  Brabant,  sent  a  powerful 
army  into  Hainault,  which  Gloucester  vainly  strove  to  defend  in 
right  of  Jacqueline,  and  next  seized  on  Holland  and  Zealand,  where 
he  met  with  a  long  but  ineffectual  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
courageous  woman  he  so  mercilessly  oppressed.  Jacqueline,  de- 
prived of  the  assistance  of  her  stanch  but  ruined  friends,^  and  aban- 
doned by  Gloucester  (who,  on  the  refusal  of  Pope  Martin  V.  to 
sanction  her  divorce,  had  married  another  woman,  and  but  feebly 
aided  the  efforts  of  the  former  to  maintain  her  rights),  was  now  left 
a  widow  by  the  death  of  John  of  Brabant.  But  Philip,  without  a 
shadow  of  justice,  pursued  his  designs  against  her  dominions  and 
finally  despoiled  her  of  her  last  possessions,  and  even  of  the  title  of 

^  We  must  not  omit  to  notice  the  existence  of  two  factions  which  for  nearly 
two  centuries  divided  and  agitated  the  whole  population  of  Holland  and  Zea- 
land. One  bore  the  title  of  Hoeks  (fishing-hooks) ;  the  other  was  called 
Kaabeljauws  (cod-fish).  The  origin  of  these  burlesque  denominations  was  a 
dispute  between  two  parties  at  a  feast,  as  to  whether  the  cod-fish  took  the 
hook,  or  the  hook  the  cod-fish.  This  apparently  frivolous  dispute  was  made 
the  pretext  for  a  serious  quarrel,  and  the  partisans  of  the  nobles  and  those  of 
the  towns  ranged  themselves  at  either  side,  and  assumed  different  badges  of 
distinction.  The  Hoeks,  partisans  of  the  towns,  wore  red  caps ;  the  Kaabeljauws 
wore  gray  ones.  In  Jacqueline's  quarrel  with  Philip  of  Burgundy  she  was  sup- 
ported by  the  former;  and  it  was  not  till  long  after  that  the  extinction  of  that 
popular  and  turbulent  faction  struck  a  final  blow  to  the  dissensions  of  both. 


HOUSE     OF     BURGUNDY  41 

1436-1467 

countess,  which  she  forfeited  by  her  marriage  with  Vrank  Van 
Borselen,  a  gentleman  of  Zealand,  contrary  to  a  compact  to  which 
Philip's  tyranny  had  forced  her  to  consent.  After  a  career,  one  of 
the  most  checkered  and  romantic  which  is  recorded  in  history,  the 
beautiful  and  hitherto  unfortunate  Jacqueline  found  repose  and 
happiness  in  the  tranquillity  of  private  life;  and  her  death  in  1436, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-six,  removed  all  restraint  from  Philip's  thirst 
for  aggrandizement  As  if  fortune  had  conspired  for  the  rapid 
consolidation  of  his  greatness,  the  death  of  Philip,  Count  of  St.  Pol, 
who  had  succeeded  his  brother  John  in  the  dukedom  of  Brabant, 
gave  him  the  sovereignty  of  that  extensive  province,  and  his  domin- 
ions soon  extended  to  the  very  limits  of  Picardy,  by  the  Peace  of 
Arras,  concluded  with  the  dauphin,  now  become  Charles  VII.,  and 
by  his  finally  contracting  a  strict  alliance  with  France. 

Philip  of  Burgundy,  thus  become  sovereign  of  dominions  at 
once  so  extensive  and  compact,  had  the  precaution  and  address  to 
obtain  from  the  emperor  a  formal  renunciation  of  his  existing, 
though  almost  nominal,  rights  as  lord  paramount.  He  next  pur- 
chased the  title  of  the  Duchess  of  Luxemburg,  and  thus  the  states 
of  the  house  of  Burgundy  gained  an  extent  about  equal  to  that  of 
the  existing  kingdoms  of  the  Netherlands  and  of  Belgium.  For 
although  on  the  north  and  east  they  did  not  include  Friesland,  the 
bishopric  of  Utrecht,  Guelders,  or  the  province  of  Liege,  still  on 
the  south  and  west  they  comprised  French  Flanders,  the  Boulonnais, 
Artois,  and  a  part  of  Picardy,  besides  Burgundy.  But  it  has  been 
already  seen  how  limited  an  authority  was  possessed  by  the  rulers 
of  the  maritime  provinces.  Flanders  in  particular,  the  most  popu- 
lous and  wealthy,  strictly  preserved  its  republican  institutions. 
Ghent  and  Bruges  were  the  two  great  towns  of  the  province,  and 
each  maintained  its  individual  authority  over  its  respective  territory 
with  great  indifference  to  the  will  or  the  wishes  of  the  sovereign 
duke.  Philip,  however,  had  the  policy  to  divide  most  effectually 
these  rival  towns.  After  having  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  people 
of  Bruges,  whom  he  made  a  vain  attempt  to  surprise,  and  who 
massacred  numbers  of  his  followers  before  his  eyes,  he  forced  them 
to  submission  by  the  assistance  of  the  citizens  of  Ghent,  who  sanc- 
tioned the  banishment  of  the  chief  men  of  the  vanquished  town. 
But  some  years  later  Ghent  was  in  its  turn  oppressed  and  punished 
for  having  resisted  the  payment  of  some  new  tax.  It  found  no 
support  from  the  rest  of  Flanders.    Nevertheless  this  powerful  city 


^  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1436-1467 

Singly  maintained  the  war  for  the  space  of  two  years,  but  the  in- 
trepid burghers  finally  yielded  to  the  veterans  of  the  duke,  formed 
to  victory  in  the  French  wars.  The  principal  privileges  of  Ghent 
were  on  this  occasion  revoked  and  annulled. 

During  these  transactions  the  province  of  Holland,  which 
enjoyed  a  degree  of  liberty  almost  equal  with  Flanders,  had  declared 
war  against  the  Hanseatic  towns  on  its  own  proper  authority.  Sup- 
ported by  Zealand,  which  formed  a  distinct  country,  but  was 
strictly  united  to  it  by  a  common  interest,  Holland  equipped  a  fleet 
against  the  pirates  which  infested  their  coasts  and  assailed  their 
commerce  and  soon  forced  them  to  submission.  Philip  in  the  mean- 
time contrived  to  manage  the  conflicting  elements  of  his  power  with 
great  subtlety.  Notwithstanding  his  ambitious  and  despotic  char- 
acter, he  conducted  himself  so  cautiously  that  his  people  by  common 
consent  confirmed  his  title  of  "  the  Good,"  which  was  somewhat 
inappropriately  given  to  him  at  the  earlier  epoch. 

Philip  had  an  only  son,  born  and  reared  in  the  midst  of  that 
ostentatious  greatness  which  he  looked  on  as  his  own  by  divine 
right ;  whereas  his  father  remembered  that  it  had  chiefly  become  his 
by  fortuitous  acquirement  and  much  of  it  by  means  not  likely  to 
look  well  in  the  sight  of  Heaven.  This  son  was  Charles,  Count  of 
Charolais,  afterward  celebrated  under  the  name  of  Charles  the 
Rash.  He  gave,  even  in  the  lifetime  of  his  father,  a  striking  speci- 
men of  despotism  to  the  people  of  Holland.  Appointed  stadtholder  ^ 
of  that  province  in  1457,  ^e  appropriated  to  himself  several  impor- 
tant successions,  forced  the  inhabitants  to  labor  in  the  formation  of 
dikes  for  the  security  of  the  property  thus  acquired,  and,  in  a  word, 
conducted  himself  as  an  absolute  master.  Soon  afterwards  he 
broke  out  into  open  opposition  to  his  father,  who  had  complained 
of  this  undutiful  and  impetuous  son  to  the  states  of  the  provinces, 
venting  his  grief  in  lamentations  instead  of  punishing  his  people's 
wrongs.  In  fact,  Philip  was  declining  daily.  Yet  even  when  dying 
he  preserved  his  natural  haughtiness  and  energy,  and,  being  pro- 
voked by  the  insubordination  of  the  people  of  Liege,  he  had  him- 
self carried  to  the  scene  of  their  punishment.  The  refractory  town 
of  Dinant,  on  the  Meuse,  was  utterly  destroyed  by  the  two  counts 
and  600  of  the  citizens  were  drowned  in  the  river  in  cold  blood. 

*  Stadtholder  is  the  more  usual  spelling,  but  stadholder  would  be  more  cor- 
rect, meaning,  literally,  steadholder,  and  not  stadt  (t.  e.,  city)  holder,  as  the  com- 
mon form  suggests. 


s  ^ 


HOUSE     OF     BURGUNDY  43 

1467 

The  following  year  Philip  expired,  leaving  to  Charles  his  long 
wished-for  inheritance. 

The  reign  of  Philip  had  produced  a  revolution  in  Belgian 
manners,  for  his  example  and  the  great  increase  of  wealth  had 
introduced  habits  of  luxury  hitherto  quite  unknown.  He  had  also 
brought  into  fashion  romantic  notions  of  military  honor,  love,  and 
chivalry,  which,  while  they  certainly  softened  the  character  of  the 
nobility,  contained  nevertheless  a  certain  mixture  of  frivolity  and 
extravagance.  The  celebrated  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  which 
was  introduced  by  Philip,  was  less  an  institution  based  on  grounds 
of  rational  magnificence  than  a  puerile  emblem  of  his  passion  for 
Isabella  of  Portugal,  his  third  wife.  The  verses  of  a  contemporary 
poet  induced  him  to  make  a  vow  for  the  conquest  of  Constantinople 
from  the  Turks.  He  certainly  never  attempted  to  execute  this 
senseless  crusade,  but  he  did  not  omit  so  fair  an  opportunity  for 
levying  new  taxes  on  his  people. 

In  some  respects,  at  least,  a  totally  different  government 
was  looked  for  on  the  part  of  his  son  and  successor,  who  was  by 
nature  and  habit  a  mere  soldier.  Charles  began  his  career  by  seizing 
on  all  the  money  and  jewels  left  by  his  father;  he  next  dismissed 
the  crowd  of  useless  functionaries  who,  under  the  pretense  of  man- 
aging, had  fed  upon  the  treasures  of  the  state.  But  this  salutary 
and  sweeping  reform  was  only  effected  to  enable  the  sovereign  to 
pursue  uncontrolled  the  most  fatal  of  all  passions,  that  of  war. 
Nothing  can  better  paint  the  true  character  of  this  haughty  and 
impetuous  prince  than  his  crest  (a  branch  of  holly)  and  his  motto, 
"  Who  touches  it,  pricks  himself."  Charles  had  conceived  a  furious 
and  not  ill-founded  hatred  for  his  base  yet  formidable  neighbor  and 
rival,  Louis  XI.  of  France.  The  latter  had  succeeded  in  obtaining 
from  Philip  the  restitution  of  some  towns  in  Picardy — cause  suffi- 
cient to  excite  the  resentment  of  his  inflammable  successor,  who 
during  his  father's  lifetime  took  open  part  with  some  of  the  vassals 
of  France  in  a  temporary  struggle  against  the  throne.  Louis,  who 
had  been  worsted  in  a  combat  where  both  he  and  Charles  bore  a 
part,  was  not  behindhand  in  his  hatred.  But  inasmuch  as  one  was 
haughty,  audacious,  and  intemperate,  the  other  was  cunning,  cool, 
and  treacherous.  Charles  was  the  proudest,  most  daring,  and  most 
unmanageable  prince  that  ever  made  the  sword  the  type  and  the 
guarantee  of  greatness;  Louis  the  most  subtle,  dissimulating  and 
treacherous  king  that  ever  wove  in  his  closet  a  tissue  of  hollow 


44  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1467-1468 

diplomacy  and  bad  faith  in  government.  The  struggle  between 
these  sovereigns  was  unequal  only  in  respect  to  this  difference  of 
character,  for  France,  subdivided  as  it  still  was,  and  exhausted  by 
the  wars  with  England,  was  not  comparable,  either  as  regarded 
men,  money,  or  the  other  resources  of  the  state,  to  the  compact  and 
prosperous  dominions  of  Burgundy. 

Charles  showed  some  symptoms  of  good  sense  and  greatness 
of  mind  soon  after  his  accession  to  power  that  encouraged  illusory 
hopes  as  to  his  future  career.  Scarcely  was  he  proclaimed  Count 
of  Flanders  at  Ghent  when  the  populace,  surrounding  his  hotel, 
absolutely  insisted  on  and  extorted  his  consent  to  the  restitution  of 
their  ancient  privileges.  Furious  as  Charles  was  at  this  bold  proof 
of  insubordination,  he  did  not  revenge  it ;  and  he  treated  with  equal 
indulgence  the  city  of  Mechlin,  which  had  expelled  its  governor  and 
rased  the  citadel.  The  people  of  Liege,  having  revolted  against 
their  bishop,  Louis  of  Bourbon,  who  was  closely  connected  with 
the  house  of  Burgundy,  were  defeated  by  the  duke  in  1467,  but  he 
treated  them  with  clemency;  and  immediately  after  this  event,  in 
February,  1468,  he  concluded  with  Edward  IV.  of  England  an 
alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  against  France. 

The  real  motive  of  this  alliance  was  rivalry  and  hatred  of 
Louis.  The  ostensible  pretext  was  this  monarch's  having  made 
war  against  the  Duke  of  Brittany,  Charles's  old  ally  in  the  short 
contest  in  which  he,  while  yet  but  count,  had  measured  his  strength 
with  his  rival  after  he  became  king.  The  present  union  between 
England  and  Burgundy  was  too  powerful  not  to  alarm  Louis;  he 
demanded  an  explanatory  conference  with  Charles,  and  the  town 
of  Peronne  in  Picardy  was  fixed  on  for  the  meeting.  Louis,  willing 
to  imitate  the  boldness  of  his  rival,  who  had  formerly  come  to  meet 
him  in  the  very  midst  of  his  army,  now  came  to  the  rendezvous 
almost  alone.  But  he  was  severely  mortified,  and  near  paying  a 
greater  penalty  than  fright,  for  this  hazardous  conduct.  The  duke, 
having  received  intelligence  of  a  new  revolt  at  Liege  excited  by  some 
of  the  agents  of  France,  instantly  made  Louis  prisoner.  The  excess 
of  his  rage  and  hatred  might  have  carried  him  to  a  more  disgraceful 
extremity  had  not  Louis  by  force  of  bribery  gained  over  some  of 
the  duke's  most  influential  counselors,  who  succeeded  in  appeasing 
his  rage.  He  contented  himself  with  humiliating,  when  he  was 
disposed  to  punish.  He  forced  his  captive  to  accompany  him  to 
Liege  and  witness  the  ruin  of  this  unfortunate  town,  which  he 


HOUSE     OF     BURGUNDY  45 

1468-1472 

delivered  over  to  plunder ;  and  having  given  this  lesson  to  Louis  he 
set  him  at  liberty. 

From  this  time  on  the  character  of  Charles  exhibited  more  and 
more  those  dangerous  traits  which  finally  brought  him  to  ruin.  A 
tireless  worker,  his  ambition  presented  to  him  so  many  fields  of 
endeavor  that  he  attempted  all  things  at  once,  and  so  failed  in  most. 
A  naturally  rash  and  excitable  nature,  complicated  by  attacks  of 
brain  fever,  led  him  often  to  excesses  and  obscured  the  better  traits 
of  his  character.  In  his  court  he  had  no  friends  and  few  faithful 
servants,  for  he  seemed  to  delight  in  humiliating  those  around  him. 
For  his  subjects  he  cared  little  or  nothing.  He  founded  his  power 
on  force  and  terror.  "  I  would  far  rather  be  hated  than  despised," 
he  cried  one  day  to  the  people  of  Ghent.  Indeed,  he  regarded 
the  people  of  the  Netherlands  as  mere  instruments  of  his  ambition, 
from  whom  he  could  wring  the  supplies  to  pay  the  bands  of  mer- 
cenary soldiers  whom  he  employed  in  preference  to  the  old  feudal 
levies.  When  the  taxes  necessary  for  the  support  and  pay  of  these 
bands  of  mercenaries  caused  the  people  to  murmur,  Charles  laughed 
at  their  complaints  and  severely  punished  some  of  the  most  refrac- 
tory of  them. 

In  1472,  in  alliance  with  the  King  of  England,  Edward  IV., 
he  entered  France  at  the  head  of  his  army,  to  assist  the  Duke 
of  Brittany ;  but  at  the  moment  when  nothing  seemed  to  oppose  the 
most  extensive  views  of  his  ambition  he  lost  by  his  hot-brained 
caprice  every  advantage  within  his  easy  reach.  He  chose  to  sit 
down  before  Beauvais,  and  thus  made  of  this  town,  which  lay  in  his 
road,  a  complete  stumbling-block  on  his  path  of  conquest.  The 
time  he  lost  before  its  walls  caused  the  defeat  and  ruin  of  his  unsup- 
ported, or  as  might  be  said  his  abandoned,  ally,  who  made  the  best 
terms  he  could  with  Louis;  and  thus  Charles's  presumption  and 
obstinacy  paralyzed  all  the  efforts  of  his  courage  and  power.  But 
he  soon  afterward  acquired  the  duchy  of  Guelders  from  the  old 
Duke  Arnoul,  who  had  been  temporarily  despoiled  of  it  by  his  son, 
Adolphus.  It  was  almost  a  hereditary  consequence  in  this  family 
that  the  children  should  revolt  and  rebel  against  their  parents. 
Adolphus  had  the  effrontery  to  found  his  justification  on  the  argu- 
ment that  his  father  having  reigned  forty-four  years  he  was  fully 
entitled  to  his  share — a  fine  practical  authority  for  greedy  and 
expectant  heirs.  The  old  father  replied  to  this  reasoning  by  offering 
to  meet  his  son  in  single  combat.    Charles  cut  short  the  affair  by 


46  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1473-1475 

making  Adolphus  prisoner  and  seizing  on  the  disputed  territory,  for 
which  he,  however,  paid  Amoul  the  sum  of  220,000  florins. 

After  this  acquisition  Charles  conceived  and  had  much  at  heart 
the  design  of  becoming  king,  the  first  time  that  the  Netherlands 
were  considered  sufficiently  important  and  consolidated  to  entitle 
their  possessor  to  that  title.  To  lead  to  this  object  he  offered  to  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  the  hand  of  his  daughter  Mary  for  his  son 
Maximilian.  The  emperor  acceded  to  the  proposition  and  repaired 
to  the  city  of  Treves  to  meet  Charles  and  countenance  his  coronation. 
But  the  insolence  and  selfishness  of  the  latter  put  an  end  to  the  pro- 
ject. He  humiliated  the  emperor,  who  was  of  a  niggardly  and 
mean-spirited  disposition,  by  appearing  with  a  train  so  numerous 
and  sumptuous  as  totally  to  eclipse  the  imperial  retinue,  and  deeply 
offended  him  by  wishing  to  postpone  the  marriage,  from  his  jeal- 
ousy of  creating  for  himself  a  rival  in  a  son-in-law  who  might 
embitter  his  old  age  as  he  had  that  of  his  own  father.  The 
mortified  emperor  quitted  the  place  in  high  dudgeon,  and  the  pro- 
jected kingdom  was  doomed  to  a  delay  of  some  centuries. 

Charles,  urged  on  by  the  double  motive  of  thirst  for  aggran- 
dizement and  vexation  at  his  late  failure,  attempted,  under  pretext 
of  some  internal  dissensions,  to  gain  possession  of  Cologne  and  its 
territory,  which  belonged  to  the  empire;  and  at  the  same  time 
planned  the  invasion  of  France,  in  concert  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Edward  IV.,  who  had  recovered  possession  of  England.  But  the 
town  of  Neuss,  in  the  archbishopric  of  Cologne,  occupied  him  a  full 
year  before  its  walls.  The  emperor,  who  came  to  its  succor, 
actually  besieged  the  besiegers  in  their  camp,  and  the  dispute  was 
terminated  by  leaving  it  to  the  arbitration  of  the  Pope's  legate 
and  placing  the  contested  town  in  his  keeping.  This  half  triumph 
gained  by  Charles  saved  Louis  wholly  from  destruction.  Edward, 
who  had  landed  in  France  with  a  numerous  force,  seeing  no  ap- 
pearance of  his  Burgundian  allies,  made  peace  with  Louis;  and 
Charles,  who  arrived  in  all  haste,  but  not  till  after  the  treaty  was 
signed,  upbraided  and  abused  the  English  king,  and  turned  a  warm 
friend  into  an  inveterate  enemy. 

Louis,  whose  crooked  policy  had  so  far  succeeded  on  all  occa- 
sions, now  seemed  to  favor  Charles's  plans  of  aggrandizement,  and 
to  recognize  his  pretended  right  to  Lorraine,  which  legitimately 
belonged  to  the  empire,  and  the  invasion  of  which  by  Charles 
would  be  sure  to  set  him  at  variance  with  the  whole  of  Germany. 


HOUSE     OF     BURGUNDY  47 

1475-1477 

The  infatuated  duke,  blind  to  the  ruin  to  which  he  was  thus 
hurrying-,  abandoned  to  Louis,  in  return  for  this  insidious  support, 
the  constable  of  St.  Pol,  a  nobleman  who  had  long  maintained  his 
independence  in  Picardy,  where  he  had  large  possessions,  and  who 
was  fitted  to  be  a  valuable  friend  or  formidable  enemy  to  either. 
Charles  now  marched  against,  and  soon  overcame,  Lorraine. 
Thence  he  turned  his  army  against  the  Swiss,  who  were  allies  to 
the  conquered  province,  but  who  sent  the  most  submissive  dis- 
suasions to  the  invader.  They  begged  for  peace,  assuring  Charles 
that  their  romantic  but  sterile  mountains  were  not  altogether  worth 
the  bridles  of  his  splendidly  equipped  cavalry.  But  the  more  they 
humbled  themselves,  the  higher  was  his  haughtiness  raised.  It 
appeared  that  he  had  at  this  period  conceived  the  project  of  uniting 
in  one  common  conquest  the  ancient  dominions  of  Lothaire  L,  who 
had  possessed  the  whole  of  the  countries  traversed  by  the  Rhine, 
the  Rhone,  and  the  Po ;  and  he  even  spoke  of  passing  the  Alps,  like 
Hannibal,  for  the  invasion  of  Italy. 

Switzerland  was,  by  moral  analogy  as  well  as  physical  fact, 
the  rock  against  which  these  extravagant  projects  were  shattered. 
The  troops  with  which  Charles  engaged  the  hardy  mountaineers  in 
the  gorges  of  the  Alps  near  the  town  of  Granson  were  literally 
crushed  to  atoms  by  the  stones  and  fragments  of  granite  detached 
from  the  heights  and  hurled  down  upon  their  heads.  Charles, 
after  this  defeat,  returned  to  the  charge  six  weeks  later,  having 
rallied  his  army  and  drawn  reinforcements  from  Burgundy.  But 
Louis  had  dispatched  a  body  of  cavalry  to  the  Swiss,  a  force  in 
which  they  were  before  deficient,  and  thus  augmented,  their  army 
amounted  to  25,000  men.  They  took  up  a  position,  skillfully 
chosen,  on  the  borders  of  the  Lake  of  Morat,  where  they  were 
attacked  by  Charles  at  the  head  of  30,000  soldiers  of  all  ranks. 
The  result  was  the  total  defeat  of  the  latter,  with  the  loss  of  10,000 
killed,  whose  bones,  gathered  into  an  immense  heap,  and  bleaching 
in  the  winds,  remained  for  above  three  centuries  a  terrible  monu- 
ment of  rashness  and  injustice,  as  well  as  of  patriotism  and  valor. 

Charles  was  now  plunged  into  a  state  of  profound  melancholy, 
but  he  soon  burst  from  this  gloomy  mood  into  one  of  renewed 
fierceness  and  fatal  desperation.  Nine  months  after  the  battle  of 
Morat  he  reentered  Lorraine  at  the  head  of  an  army  not  composed 
of  his  faithful  militia  of  the  Netherlands,  but  of  those  mercenaries 
in  whom  it  was  madness  to  place  trust.    The  reinforcements  meant 


48  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1477 

to  be  dispatched  to  him  by  those  provinces  were  kept  back  by  the 
artifices  of  the  Count  of  Campo  Basso,  an  Italian  who  commanded 
his  cavalry,  and  who  only  gained  his  confidence  basely  to  betray 
it.  Rene,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  at  the  head  of  the  confederate  forces, 
offered  battle  to  Charles  under  the  walls  of  Nancy,  and  the  night 
before  the  combat  Campo  Basso  went  over  to  the  enemy  with  the 
troops  under  his  command.  Still  Charles  had  the  way  open  for 
retreat.  Fresh  troops  from  Burgundy  and  Flanders  were  on  their 
march  to  join  him,  but  he  would  not  be  dissuaded  from  his  resolu- 
tion to  fight,  and  he  resolved  to  try  his  fortune  once  more  with 
his  dispirited  and  shattered  army.  On  this  occasion  the  fate  of 
Charles  was  decided,  and  the  fortune  of  Louis  triumphant.  The 
rash  and  ill-fated  duke  lost  both  the  battle  and  his  life.  His  body, 
mutilated  with  wounds,  was  found  the  next  day,  and  buried  with 
great  pomp  in  the  town  of  Nancy,  by  the  orders  of  the  generous 
victor,  the  Duke  of  Lorraine. 

With  Charles  fell  the  power  of  the  house  of  Burgundy.  The 
great  Burgundian  state  lacking  in  coherence  and  national  unity, 
was  soon  ground  to  pieces  between  France  and  Germany.  Charles 
left  to  his  only  daughter,  then  eighteen  years  of  age,  the  inheritance 
of  his  extensive  dominions,  and  with  them  that  of  the  hatred  and 
jealousy  which  he  had  so  largely  excited.  External  spoliation 
immediately  commenced,  and  internal  disunion  quickly  followed. 
Louis  XL  seized  on  Burgundy  and  a  part  of  Artois  as  fiefs  devolv- 
ing to  the  crown  in  default  of  male  issue.  Several  of  the  provinces 
refused  to  pay  the  new  subsidies  commanded  in  the  name  of  Mary, 
Flanders  alone  showing  a  disposition  to  uphold  the  rights  of  the 
young  princess.  The  states  were  assembled  at  Ghent  and  ambassa- 
dors sent  to  the  King  of  France,  in  the  hopes  of  obtaining  peace 
on  reasonable  terms.  Louis,  true  to  his  system  of  subtle  perfidy, 
placed  before  one  of  those  ambassadors,  the  burgomaster  of  Ghent, 
a  letter  from  the  inexperienced  princess,  which  proved  her  inten- 
tion to  govern  by  the  counsel  of  her  father's  ancient  ministers, 
rather  than  by  that  of  the  deputies  of  the  nation.  This  was 
enough  to  decide  the  indignant  Flemings  to  render  themselves  at 
once  masters  of  the  government  and  get  rid  of  the  ministers  whom 
they  hated.  Two  Burgundian  nobles,  Hugonet  and  Imbercourt, 
were  arrested,  accused  of  treason,  and  beheaded  under  the  very 
eyes  of  their  agonized  and  outraged  mistress,  who  threw  herself 
before  the  frenzied  multitude,  vainly  imploring  mercy  for  these 


HOUSE     OF     BURGUNDY 


49 


1477 

innocent  men.  The  people  having  thus  completely  gained  the  upper 
hand  over  the  Burgundian  influence,  Mary  was  sovereign  of  the 
Netherlands  but  in  name. 

It  w^ould  have  now  been  easy  for  Louis  XI.  to  have  obtained 
for  the  dauphin,  his  son,  the  hand  of  this  hitherto  unfortunate  but 
interesting  princess,  but  he  thought  himself  sufficiently  strong  and 
cunning  to  gain  possession  of  her  states  without  such  an  alliance. 


BURGUNDY  DOMINION 

USDER 

CHARI£S  THE  RASH 


Mary,  however,  thus  in  some  measure  disdained  if  not  actually 
rejected  by  Louis,  soon  after  married  her  first-intended  husband, 
Maximilian  of  Austria,  son  of  the  Emperor  Frederick  III.,  a 
prince  so  absolutely  destitute,  in  consequence  of  his  father's  parsi- 
mony, that  she  was  obliged  to  borrow  money  from  the  towns  of 
Flanders  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  suite.  Nevertheless  he 
seemed  equally  acceptable  to  his  bride  and  to  his  new  subjects. 
They  not  only  supplied  all  his  wants,  but  enabled  him  to  maintain 


60  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1477-1493 

the  war  against  Louis  XL,  whom  they  defeated  at  the  battle  of 
Guinegate  in  Picardy,  and  forced  to  make  peace  on  more  favorable 
terms  than  they  had  hoped  for.  But  these  wealthy  provinces  were 
not  more  zealous  for  the  national  defense  than  bent  on  the  main- 
tenance of  their  local  privileges,  which  Maximilian  little  under- 
stood, and  sympathized  with  less.  He  was  bred  in  the  school  of 
absolute  despotism,  and  his  duchess  having  met  with  an  early 
death  by  a  fall  from  her  horse  in  the  year  1482,  he  could  not  even 
succeed  in  obtaining  the  nomination  of  guardian  to  his  own 
children  without  passing  through  a  year  of  civil  war.  His  power 
being  almost  nominal  in  the  northern  provinces,  he  vainly  at- 
tempted to  suppress  the  violence  of  the  factions  of  Hoeks  and 
Kaabeljauws.  In  Flanders  his  authority  was  openly  resisted. 
The  turbulent  towns  of  that  country,  and  particularly  Bruges, 
taking  umbrage  at  a  government  half  German,  half  Burgundian, 
and  altogether  hateful  to  the  people,  rose  up  against  Maximilian, 
seized  on  his  person,  imprisoned  him  in  a  house  which  still  exists, 
and  put  to  death  his  most  faithful  followers.  But  the  fury  of 
Ghent  and  other  places  becoming  still  more  outrageous,  Maxi- 
milian asked  as  a  favor  from  his  rebel  subjects  of  Bruges  to  be 
guarded  by  them  alone.  Since  i486  he  had  been  king  of  the 
Romans,  and  all  Europe  became  interested  in  his  fate.  The  Pope 
addressed  a  brief  to  the  town  of  Bruges,  demanding  his  deliver- 
ance. But  the  burghers  were  as  inflexible  as  factious,  and  they  at 
length  released  him,  only  after  they  had  concluded  with  him  and 
the  assembled  states  a  treaty  which  most  amply  secured  the  enjoy- 
n^ient  of  their  privileges  and  the  pardon  of  their  rebellion. 

But  Maximilian  was  not  slow  in  breaking  the  treaty  thus 
forced  upon  him.  He  placed  the  command  of  his  troops  in  the 
hands  of  an  able  leader,  Albert  of  Saxe  Meissen,  the  best  general 
of  his  time,  well  fitted  to  cope  with  Philip  of  Cleves,  the  talented 
leader  of  the  Flemings.  Aided  by  the  faction  of  the  Kaabeljauws, 
Albert  soon  conquered  Holland,  1489,  and  extinguished  the 
weaker  party  of  the  Hoeks.  Place  after  place  was  taken  from  the 
Flemings,  and  after  the  fall  of  Sluys  Philip  of  Cleves  fled  to 
France.  By  1492  Albert  was  able  to  announce  to  Maximilian  that 
the  Netherlands  were  completely  subdued.  The  destruction  of  the 
parties  which  had  so  long  rent  Holland  by  their  feuds  enabled  that 
province  to  recover  from  its  exhaustion  and  insignificance  and  to 
assume  a  new  and  ever  increasing  importance  in  the  Netherlands. 


MARY    OF   BURGUNDY    SWEARS    TO    RESPECT    THE    ANCIENT    RIGHTS    OF    THE 

CITY    OF    BRUSSELS 

Painting  by  E.   IVauters 


HOUSE     OF     BURGUNDY  51 

1493-1500 

The  situation  of  the  Netherlands  was  still  extremely  precari- 
ous and  difficult  to  manage  during  the  unstable  sway  of  a  govern- 
ment so  weak  as  Maximilian's.  But  he,  having  succeeded  his 
father  on  the  imperial  throne  in  1493,  and  his  son  Philip  having 
been  proclaimed  the  following  year  duke  and  count  of  the  various 
provinces  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  a  more  pleasing  prospect  was 
offered  to  the  people.  Philip,  young,  handsome,  and  descended  by 
his  mother  from  the  ancient  sovereigns  of  the  country,  was  joy- 
fully hailed  by  all  the  towns.  He  did  not  belie  the  hopes  so  en- 
thusiastically expressed.  He  had  the  good  sense  to  renounce  all 
pretensions  to  Friesland,  the  fertile  source  of  many  preceding 
quarrels  and  sacrifices.  He  reestablished  the  ancient  commercial 
relations  with  England,  to  which  country  Maximilian  had  given 
mortal  offense  by  sustaining  the  imposture  of  Perkin  Warl>eck. 
Philip  also  consulted  the  states-general  on  his  projects  of  a  double 
alliance  between  himself  and  his  sister  with  the  son  and  daughter 
of  Ferdinand,  King  of  Aragon,  and  Isabella,  Queen  of  Castile,  and 
from  this  wise  precaution  the  project  soon  became  one  of  national 
partiality  instead  of  private  or  personal  interest.  In  this  manner 
complete  harmony  was  established  between  the  young  prince  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Netherlands.  All  the  ills  produced  by  civil 
war  disappeared  with  immense  rapidity  in  Flanders  and  Brabant 
as  soon  as  peace  was  thus  consolidated.  Even  Holland,  though  it 
had  particularly  felt  the  scourge  of  these  dissensions,  and  suffered 
severely  from  repeated  inundations,  began  to  recover. 

The  reign  of  Philip,  unfortunately  a  short  one,  was  rendered 
remarkable  by  two  intestine  quarrels,  one  in  Friesland,  the  other 
in  Guelders.  The  Prisons,  who  had  been  so  isolated  from  the  more 
important  affairs  of  Europe  that  they  were  in  a  manner  lost  sight 
of  by  history  for  several  centuries,  had  nevertheless  their  full  share 
of  domestic  disputes;  too  long,  too  multifarious,  and  too  minute  to 
allow  us  to  give  more  than  this  brief  notice  of  their  existence.  But 
finally,  about  the  period  of  Philip's  accession,  eastern  Friesland  had 
chosen  for  its  count  a  gentleman  of  the  country  surnamed  Edzart, 
who  fixed  the  headquarters  of  his  military  government  at  Embden. 
The  sight  of  such  an  elevation  in  an  individual  whose  pretensions 
he  thought  far  inferior  to  his  own  induced  Albert  of  Saxony,  who 
had  well  sensed  Maximilian  against  the  refractory  Flemings,  to 
demand  as  his  reward  the  title  of  stadtholder,  or  hereditary 
governor,  of  Friesland.    But  it  was  far  easier  for  the  emperor  to 


52  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1500-1506 

accede  to  this  request  than  for  his  favorite  to  put  the  grant  into 
effect.  The  Prisons,  true  to  their  character,  held  to  their  privileges, 
and  fought  for  their  maintenance  with  heroic  courage.  And  Albert 
died,  in  1500,  without  succeeding  in  subduing  the  province. 

The  war  of  Guelders  was  of  a  totally  different  nature.  In 
this  case  it  was  not  a  question  of  popular  resistance  to  a  tyrannical 
nomination,  but  of  patriotic  fidelity  to  the  reigning  family. 
Adolphus,  the  duke  who  had  dethroned  his  father,  had  died  in 
Flanders,  leaving  a  son  who  had  been  brought  up  almost  a  captive 
as  long  as  Maximilian  governed  the  states  of  his  inheritance.  This 
young  man,  called  Charles  of  Egmont,  and  who  is  honored  in  the 
history  of  his  country  under  the  title  of  the  Achilles  of  Guelders, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French  during  the  combat  in  which  he 
made  his  first  essay  in  arms.  The  towns  of  Guelders  unanimously 
joined  to  pay  his  ransom,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  at  liberty  they  one 
and  all  proclaimed  him  duke.  The  Emperor  Philip  and  the  Ger- 
manic diet  in  vain  protested  against  this  measure,  and  declared 
Charles  a  usurper.  The  spirit  of  justice  and  of  liberty  spoke  more 
loudly  than  the  thunders  of  their  ban,  and  the  people  resolved  to 
support  to  the  last  this  scion  of  an  ancient  race,  glorious  in  much 
of  its  conduct,  though  often  criminal  in  many  of  its  members. 
Charles  of  Egmont  found  faithful  friends  in  his  devoted  subjects, 
and  he  maintained  his  rights,  sometimes  with,  sometimes  without, 
the  assistance  of  France — making  up  for  his  want  of  numbers  by 
energy  and  enterprise.  We  cannot  follow  this  warlike  prince  in  the 
long  series  of  adventures  which  consolidated  his  power,  nor  stop 
to  depict  his  daring  adherents  on  land,  who  caused  the  whole  of 
Holland  to  tremble  at  their  deeds;  nor  his  pirates — the  chief  of 
whom,  Long  Peter,  called  himself  king  of  the  Zuyder  Zee.  But 
amid  all  the  consequent  troubles  of  such  a  struggle  it  is  marvelous 
to  find  Charles  of  Egmont  upholding  his  country  in  a  state  of  high 
prosperity  and  leaving  it  at  his  death  almost  as  rich  as  Holland 
itself. 

The  incapacity  of  Philip  the  Fair  doubtless  contributed  to 
cause  him  the  loss  of  this  portion  of  his  dominions.  This  prince, 
after  his  first  acts  of  moderation  and  good  sense,  was  remarkable 
only  as  being  the  father  of  Charles  V.  The  remainder  of  his  life 
was  worn  out  in  undignified  pleasures,  and  he  died  suddenly,  in 
the  year  1506,  at  Burgos  in  Castile,  whither  he  repaired  to  pay 
9  visit  to  his  father-in-law,  the  Regent  of  Spain. 


Chapter  VI 

MARGARET   OF   AUSTRIA  AND   CHARLES   V.   OF 
SPAIN.     1506-1555 

PHILIP  being  dead,  and  his  wife,  Joanna  af  Spain,  having 
become  mad  from  grief  at  his  loss,  after  nearly  losing  her 
senses  from  jealousy  during  his  life,  the  regency  of  the 
Netherlands  reverted  to  Maximilian,  who  immediately  named  his 
daughter  Margaret  govemant  of  the  country.  This  princess, 
scarcely  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  had  been,  like  the  celebrated 
Jacqueline  of  Bavaria,  already  three  times  married,  and  was  now 
again  a  widow.  Her  first  husband,  Charles  VIII.  of  France,  had 
broken  from  his  contract  of  marriage  before  its  consummation ;  her 
second,  the  Infante  of  Spain,  died  immediately  after  their  union; 
and  her  third,  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  left  her  again  a  widow  after 
three  years  of  wedded  life.  She  was  a  woman  of  talent  and  cour- 
age, and  was  received  with  the  greatest  joy  by  the  people  of  the 
Netherlands,  whom  she  governed  as  peaceably  as  circumstances 
allowed.  Supported  by  England,  she  firmly  maintained  her  au- 
thority against  the  threats  of  France,  and  she  carried  on  in  person 
all  the  negotiations  between  Louis  XII.,  Maximilian,  the  Pope 
Jules  II.,  and  Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  for  the  famous  league  against 
Venice.  These  negotiations  took  place  in  1508,  at  Cambrai, 
where  Margaret,  if  we  are  to  credit  an  expression  to  that  effect  in 
one  of  her  letters,  was  more  than  once  on  the  point  of  having  seri- 
ous differences  with  the  Cardinal  of  Amboise,  minister  of  Louis 
XII.  But,  besides  her  attention  to  the  interests  of  her  father  on 
this  important  occasion,  she  also  succeeded  in  repressing  the  rising 
pretensions  of  Charles  of  Egmont,  and  assisted  by  the  interference 
of  the  King  of  France,  she  obliged  him  to  give  up  some  places  in 
Holland  which  he  illegally  held. 

From  this  period  the  alliance  between   England  and   Spain 
raised  the  commerce  and  manufactures  of  the  southern  provinces 
of  the  Netherlands  to  a  high  degree  of  prosperity,  while  the  north- 
ern parts  of  the  country  were  still  kept  down  by  their  various  dis- 
ss 


54  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1513-1517 

sensions.  Holland  was  at  war  with  the  Hanseatic  towns.  The 
Prisons  continued  to  struggle  for  freedom  against  the  heirs  of 
Albert  of  Saxony.  Utrecht  was  at  variance  with  its  bishop,  and 
finally  recognized  Charles  of  Egmont  as  its  protector.  The  conse- 
quence of  all  these  circumstances  was  that  the  south  took  the  start  in 
a  course  of  prosperity,  which  was,  however,  soon  to  become  common 
to  the  whole  nation. 

A  new  rupture  with  France,  in  15 13,  united  Maximilian, 
Margaret,  and  Henry  VHL  of  England  in  one  common  cause.  An 
English  and  Belgian  army,  in  which  Maximilian  figured  as  a  spec- 
tator (taking  care  to  be  paid  by  England),  marched  for  the  de- 
struction of  Therouenne,  and  defeated  and  dispersed  the  French 
at  the  Battle  of  the  Spurs.  But  Louis  XH.  soon  persuaded  Henry  to 
make  a  separate  peace,  and  the  unconquerable  Duke  of  Guelders 
made  Margaret  and  the  emperor  pay  the  penalty  of  their  success 
against  France.  He  pursued  his  victories  in  Friesland  and  forced 
the  country  to  recognize  him  as  stadtholder  of  Groningen,  its  chief 
town;  while  the  Duke  of  Saxony  at  length  renounced  to  another 
his  unjust  claim  on  a  territory  which  engulfed  both  his  armies 
and  his  treasure. 

About  the  same  epoch  (1515)  young  Charles,  son  of  Philip 
the  Fair,  having  just  attained  his  fifteenth  year,  was  inaugurated 
Duke  of  Brabant  and  Count  of  Flanders  and  of  Holland,  having  pur- 
chased the  presumed  right  of  Saxony  to  the  sovereignty  of  Fries- 
land.  In  the  following  year  he  was  recognized  as  Prince  of  Castile, 
in  right  of  his  mother,  who  associated  him  with  herself  in  the  royal 
power — a  step  which  soon  left  her  merely  the  title  of  queen. 
Charles  procured  the  nomination  of  Bishop  of  Utrecht  for  Philip, 
Bastard  of  Burgundy,  which  made  that  province  completely  de- 
pendent on  him.  But  this  event  was  also  one  of  general  and 
lasting  importance  on  another  account.  This  Philip  of  Burgundy 
was  deeply  affected  by  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  which 
had  burst  forth  in  Germany.  He  opposed  himself  to  the  ob- 
servances of  the  Roman  Church,  and  set  his  face  against  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy.  His  example  soon  influenced  his  whole 
diocese,  and  the  new  notions  on  points  of  religion  became  rapidly 
popular.  It  was  chiefly,  however,  in  Friesland  that  the  people  em- 
braced the  opinions  of  Luther,  which  were  quite  conformable  to 
many  of  the  local  customs  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  The 
celebrated  Edzard,  Count  of  Eastern  Friesland,  openly  adopted 


CHARLES     V      OF     SPAIN  55 

1517-1521 

the  Reformation.  Erasmus,  the  famous  scholar  of  Rotterdam, 
without  actually  pronouncing  himself  a  disciple  of  Lutheranism, 
effected  more  than  all  its  advocates  to  further  the  movement. 

We  may  here  remark  that  during  the  government  of  the 
house  of  Burgundy  the  clergy  of  the  Netherlands  had  fallen  into 
low  estate,  and  the  Reformation,  therefore,  in  the  first  instance 
found  but  a  slight  obstacle  in  their  opposition.  Its  progress  was 
all  at  once  prodigious.  The  refusal  of  the  dignity  of  emperor 
by  Frederick  "  the  Wise, "  Duke  of  Saxony,  to  whom  it  was 
offered  by  the  electors,  was  also  an  event  highly  favorable  to  the 
new  opinions,  for  Francis  I.  of  France,  and  Charles,  already  king 
of  Spain  and  sovereign  of  the  Netherlands,  both  claiming  the 
succession  to  the  empire,  a  sort  of  interregnum  deprived  the  dis- 
puted dominions  of  a  chief  who  might  lay  the  heavy  hand  of  power 
on  the  new-springing  doctrines  of  Protestantism.  At  length  the 
intrigues  of  Charles  and  his  pretensions  as  grandson  of  Maximilian 
having  caused  him  to  be  chosen  emperor,  a  desperate  rivalry  re- 
sulted between  him  and  the  French  king,  which  for  a  while 
absorbed  his  whole  attention  and  occupied  all  his  power. 

From  the  earliest  appearance  of  the  Reformation  the  young 
sovereign  of  so  many  states,  having  to  establish  his  authority  at 
the  two  extremities  of  Europe,  could  not  efficiently  occupy  him- 
self in  resisting  the  doctrines  which,  despite  their  dishonoring  epi- 
thet of  heresy,  were  doomed  so  soon  to  become  orthodox  for  a 
great  part  of  the  Continent.  While  Charles  vigorously  put  down 
the  revolted  Spaniards,  Luther  gained  new  proselytes  in  Germany, 
so  that  the  very  greatness  of  the  sovereignty  was  the  cause  of  his 
impotency;  and  while  Charles's  extent  of  dominion  thus  fostered 
the  growing  Reformation,  his  sense  of  honor  proved  the  safeguard 
of  its  apostle.  The  intrepid  Luther,  boldly  venturing  to  appear 
and  plead  its  cause  before  the  representative  power  of  Germany 
assembled  at  the  Diet  of  Worms,  was  protected  by  the  guarantee 
of  the  emperor — unlike  the  celebrated  and  unfortunate  John  Huss, 
who  fell  a  victim  to  his  own  confidence  and  the  bad  faith  of  Sigis- 
mund,  in  the  year  14 15. 

Charles  was  nevertheless  a  zealous  and  rigid  Catholic,  and  in 
the  Low  Countries,  where  his  authority  was  undisputed,  he  pro- 
scribed the  heretics,  and  even  violated  the  privileges  of  the  country 
by  appointing  functionaries  for  the  express  purpose  of  their  pursuit 
and  punishment.     This  imprudent   stretch   of   power    fostei*ed    a 


56  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1521-1529 

rising  spirit  of  opposition,  for,  though  entertaining  the  best  dis- 
position to  their  young  prince,  the  people  deeply  felt  and  loudly 
complained  of  the  government,  and  thus  the  germs  of  a  mighty 
revolution  gradually  beg^n  to  be  developed. 

Charles  V.  and  Francis  L  had  been  rivals  for  dignity  and 
power,  and  they  now  became  implacable  personal  enemies.  Young, 
ambitious,  and  sanguine,  they  could  not,  without  reciprocal  resent- 
ment, pursue  in  the  same  field  objects  essential  to  both.  Charles, 
by  a  short  but  timely  visit  to  England  in  1520,  had  the  address  to 
gain  over  to  his  cause  and  secure  for  his  purpose  the  powerful  in- 
terest of  Cardinal  Wolsey,  and  to  make  a  most  favorable  impres- 
sion on  Henry  VIII. ;  and  thus  strengthened,  he  entered  on  the 
struggle  against  his  less  wily  enemy  with  infinite  advantage.  War 
was  declared  on  frivolous  pretexts  in  1521.  The  French  sustained 
it  for  some  time  with  great  valor,  but  Francis  being  obstinately 
bent  on  the  conquest  of  the  Milanais,  his  reverses  secured  the  tri- 
umph of  his  rival,  and  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  imperial  troops 
at  the  battle  of  Pavia  in  1525,  Charles's  dominions  in  the  Nether- 
lands suffered  severely  from  the  naval  operations  during  the  war 
for  the  French  cruisers  having  on  repeated  occasions  taken,  pil- 
laged, and  almost  destroyed  the  principal  resources  of  the  herring 
fishery,  Holland  and  Zealand  felt  considerable  distress,  which  was 
still  further  augmented  by  the  famine  which  desolated  these 
provinces  in  1524. 

While  such  calamities  afflicted  the  northern  portion  of  the 
Netherlands,  Flanders  and  Brabant  continued  to  flourish,  in  spite 
of  temporary  embarrassments.  The  Bishop  of  Utrecht  having 
died,  his  successor  found  himself  engaged  in  a  hopeless  quarrel 
with  his  new  diocese,  already  more  than  half  converted  to  Prot- 
estantism; and  to  gain  a  triumph  over  these  enemies,  even  by  the 
sacrifice  of  his  dignity,  he  ceded  to  the  emperor  in  1527  the  whole 
of  his  temporal  power.  The  Duke  of  Guelders,  who  then  occupied 
the  city  of  Utrecht,  redoubled  his  hostility  at  this  intelligence,  and 
after  having  ravaged  the  neighboring  country  he  did  not  lay  down 
his  arms  till  the  subsequent  year,  having  first  procured  an  honor- 
able and  advantageous  peace.  One  year  more  witnessed  the  termi- 
nation of  this  long  continued  state  of  warfare  by  the  Peace  of  Cam- 
brai,  between  Charles  and  Francis,  which  was  signed  on  August 

This  peace  once  concluded,  the  industry  and  perseverance  of 


CHARLES    V      OF    SPAIN  Wf 

1529-15S5 

the  inhabitants  of  the  Netherlands  repaired  in  a  short  time  the 
evils  caused  by  so  many  wars,  excited  by  the  ambition  of  princes, 
but  in  scarcely  any  instance  for  the  interest  of  the  country.  Little, 
however,  was  wanting  to  endanger  this  tranquillity  and  to  excite 
the  people  against  each  other  on  the  score  of  religious  dissension. 
The  sect  of  Anabaptists,  whose  wild  opinions  were  subversive  of 
all  principles  of  social  order  and  every  sentiment  of  natural 
decency,  had  its  birth  in  Germany,  and  found  many  proselytes  in 
the  Netherlands.  John  Bokelszoon,  a  tailor  of  Leyden,  one  of  the 
number,  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  king  of  Jerusalem;  and, 
making  himself  master  of  the  town  of  Munster,  sent  out  his  dis- 
ciples to  preach  in  the  neighboring  countries.  Mary,  sister  of 
Charles  V.,  and  queen  dowager  of  Hungary,  the  governant  of  the 
Netherlands,  proposed  a  crusade  against  this  fanatic,  which  was, 
however,  totally  discountenanced  by  the  states.  Encouraged  by 
impunity,  whole  troops  of  these  sectarians,  from  the  very  extremi- 
ties of  Hainault,  put  themselves  into  motion  for  Munster,  and  not- 
withstanding the  colds  of  February  they  marched  along,  quite 
naked,  according  to  the  system  of  their  sect.  The  frenzy  of  these 
fanatics  being  increased  by  persecution,  they  projected  attempts 
against  several  towns,  and  particularly  against  Amsterdam.  They 
were  easily  defeated,  and  massacred  without  mercy,  and  it  was  only 
by  multiplied  and  horrible  executions  that  their  numbers  were  at 
length  diminished.  John  Bokelszoon  held  out  at  Munster,  which 
was  besieged  by  the  bishop  and  the  neighboring  princes.  This 
profligate  fanatic,  who  had  married  no  less  than  seventeen  women, 
had  gained  considerable  influence  over  the  insensate  multitude,  but 
he  was  at  length  taken  and  imprisoned  in  an  iron  cage — an  event 
which  undeceived  the  greatest  number  of  those  whom  he  had  per- 
suaded of  his  superhuman  powers.^ 

The  prosperity  of  the  southern  provinces  proceeded  rapidly 
and  uninterruptedly  in  consequence  of  the  great  and  valuable 
traffic  of  the  merchants  of  Flanders  and  Brabant,  who  exchanged 
their  goods  of  native  manufacture  for  the  riches  drawn  from 
America  and  India  by  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese.  Antwerp 
had  succeeded  to  Bruges  as  the  general  mart  of  commerce,  and 
was  the  most  opulent  town  of  the  north  of  Europe.  The  expenses, 
estimated  at   130,000  golden  crowns,  which  this  city  voluntarily 

*A  very  interesting  account  of  the  Anabaptist's  rule  at  Munster  will  be 
found  in  S.  Baring-Gould,  "Freaks  of  Fanaticism." 


68  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1535-1539 

incurred  to  do  honor  to  the  visit  of  Philip,  son  of  Charles  V.,  are 
cited  as  a  proof  of  its  wealth.  The  value  of  the  wool  annually 
imported  for  manufacture  into  the  Low  Countries  from  England 
and  Spain  was  calculated  at  4,000,000  pieces  of  gold.  Their  her- 
ring fishery  was  unrivaled,  for  even  the  Scotch,  on  whose  coasts 
these  fish  were  taken,  did  not  attempt  a  competition  with  the 
Zealanders.  But  the  chief  seat  of  prosperity  was  the  south. 
Flanders  alone  was  taxed  for  one-third  of  the  general  burdens  of 
the  state.  Brabant  i>aid  only  one-seventh  less  than  Flanders.  So 
that  these  two  rich  provinces  contributed  thirteen  out  of  twenty- 
one  parts  of  the  general  contribution,  and  all  the  rest  combined 
but  eight.  A  search  for  further  or  minuter  proofs  of  the  com- 
parative state  of  the  various  divisions  of  the  country  would  be 
superfluous. 

The  perpetual  quarrels  of  Charles  V.  with  Francis  L  and 
Charles  of  Guelders  led,  as  may  be  supposed,  to  a  repeated  state  of 
exhaustion,  which  forced  the  princes  to  pause  till  the  people  recov- 
ered strength  and  resources  for  each  fresh  encounter.  Charles 
rarely  appeared  in  the  Netherlands,  fixing  his  residence  chiefly  in 
Spain,  and  leaving  to  his  sister  the  regulation  of  those  distant 
provinces.  One  of  his  occasional  visits  was  for  the  purpose  of 
inflicting  a  terrible  example  upon  them.  The  people  of  Ghent,  sus- 
pecting an  improper  or  improvident  application  of  the  funds  they 
had  furnished  for  a  new  campaign,  offered  themselves  to  march 
against  the  French,  instead  of  being  forced  to  pay  their  quota  of 
some  further  subsidy.  The  government  having  rejected  this  pro- 
posal, a  sedition  was  the  result,  at  the  moment  when  Charles  and 
Francis  had  just  negotiated  one  of  their  temporary  reconciliations. 
On  this  occasion  Charles  formed  the  daring  resolution  of  crossing 
the  kingdom  of  France  to  promptly  take  into  his  own  hands  the 
settlement  of  this  affair — trusting  to  the  generosity  of  his  scarcely 
reconciled  enemy  not  to  abuse  the  confidence  with  which  he  risked 
himself  in  his  power.  Ghent,  taken  by  surprise,  did  not  dare  to 
oppose  the  entrance  of  the  emperor  when  he  appeared  before  the 
walls,  and  the  city  was  punished  with  extreme  severity.  Twenty- 
seven  leaders  of  the  sedition  were  beheaded,  the  principal  privileges 
of  the  city  were  withdrawn,  and  a  citadel  built  to  hold  it  in  check 
for  the  future.  Charles  met  with  neither  opposition  nor  complaint. 
The  province  had  so  prospered  under  his  sway,  and  was  so  flat- 
tered by  the  greatness  of  the  sovereign,  who  was  born  in  the  town 


CHARLES     V      OF     SPAIN  59 

1539-1555 

he  SO  severely  punished,  that  his  acts  of  despotic  harshness  were 
borne  without  a  murmur.  But  in  the  north  the  people  did  not 
view  his  measures  so  complacently,  and  a  wide  separation  in  inter- 
ests and  opinions  became  manifest  in  the  different  divisions  of 
the  nation. 

Yet  the  Dutch  and  the  Zealanders  signalized  themselves  be- 
yond all  his  other  subjects  on  the  occasion  of  two  expeditions 
which  Charles  undertook  against  Tunis  and  Algiers.  The  two 
northern  provinces  furnished  a  greater  number  of  ships  than  the 
united  quotas  of  all  the  rest  of  his  states.  But  though  Charles's 
gratitude  did  not  lead  him  to  do  anything  in  return  as  peculiarly 
favorable  to  these  provinces,  he  obtained  for  them  nevertheless  a 
great  advantage  in  making  himself  master  of  Friesland  and 
Guelders  on  the  death  of  Charles  of  Egmont.  His  acquisition  of 
the  latter,  which  took  place  in  1543,  put  an  end  to  the  domestic 
wars  of  the  northern  provinces.  From  that  period  they  might 
fairly  look  for  a  futurity  of  union  and  peace,  and  thus  the  latter 
years  of  Charles  promised  better  for  his  country  than  his  early 
ones,  though  he  obtained  less  success  in  his  new  wars  with  France, 
which  were  not,  however,  signalized  by  any  grand  event  on  either 
side. 

Toward  the  end  of  his  career  Charles  redoubled  his  severities 
against  the  Protestants,  and  even  introduced  a  modified  species  of 
inquisition  into  the  Netherlands,  but  with  little  effect  toward  the 
suppression  of  the  Reformed  doctrines.  The  misunderstandings 
between  his  only  son  Philip  and  Mary  of  England,  whom  he  had 
induced  the  prince  to  marry,  together  with  the  unamiable  disposition 
of  the  latter,  tormented  him  almost  as  much  as  he  was  humiliated 
by  the  victories  of  Henry  H.  of  France,  the  successor  of  Francis  I., 
and  the  successful  dissimulation  of  Maurice,  Elector  of  Saxony,  by 
whom  he  was  completely  outwitted,  deceived,  and  defeated.  Influ- 
enced by  these  considerations,  and  others,  perhaps,  which  are  and 
must  ever  remain  unknown,  Charles  at  length  decided  on  abdicating 
the  whole  of  his  immense  possessions.  He  chose  the  city  of  Brussels 
as  the  scene  of  the  solemnity,  and  the  day  fixed  for  it  was  October 
25>  1555-  It  took  place,  accordingly,  in  the  presence  of  the  King 
of  Bohemia,  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  the  dowager  queens  of  France  and 
Hungary,  the  Duchess  of  Lorraine,  and  an  immense  assemblage 
of  nobility  from  various  countries.  Charles  resigned  the  empire  to 
his  brother  Ferdinand,  already  King  of  the  Romans,  and  all  the 


60 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 


1555-1558 

rest  of  his  dominions  to  his  son.  Soon  after  the  ceremony  Charles 
embarked  from  Zealand  on  his  voyage  to  Spain.  He  retired  to  the 
monastery  of  St.  Justus,  near  the  town  of  Placentia,  in  Estrema- 
dura.  He  entered  this  retreat  in  February,  1556,  and  died  there 
on  September  21,  1558,  in  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 

The  whole  of  the  provinces  of  the  Netherlands  being  now  for 
the  first  time  united  under  one  sovereign,  such  a  junction  marks 


COMMERCIAL  TOWNS  OF  THE 
MIDDLE  AGES 


the  limits  of  a  distinct  epoch  in  their  history.  It  would  be  a  pre- 
sumptuous and  vain  attempt  to  trace  in  a  compass  so  confined  as 
ours  the  various  changes  in  manners  and  customs  which  arose  in 
these  countries  during  a  period  of  one  thousand  years.  The  amaz- 
ing increase  of  commerce  was,  above  all  other  considerations,  the 
cause  of  the  growth  of  liberty  in  the  Netherlands.  The  Reforma- 
tion opened  the  minds  of  men  to  that  intellectual  freedom  without 
which  political  enfranchisement  is  a  worthless  privilege.     The  in- 


CHARLES     V      OF     SPAIN  61 

1400-1555 

vention  of  printing  opened  a  thousand  channels  to  the  flow  of  eru- 
dition and  talent,  and  sent  them  out  from  the  reservoirs  of 
individual  possession  to  fertilize  the  whole  domain  of  human 
nature.  War,  which  seems  to  be  an  instinct  of  man,  and  which 
particular  instances  of  heroism  often  raise  to  the  dignity  of  a  pas- 
sion, was  reduced  to  a  science,  and  made  subservient  to  those  great 
principles  of  policy  in  which  society  began  to  perceive  its  only 
chance  of  durable  good.  Manufactures  attained  a  state  of  high 
perfection,  and  went  on  progressively  with  the  growth  of  wealth 
and  luxury.  The  opulence  of  the  towns  of  Brabant  and  Flanders 
was  without  any  previous  example  in  the  state  of  Europe.  A  mer- 
chant of  Bruges  took  upon  himself  alone  the  security  for  the  ran- 
som of  John  the  Fearless,  taken  at  the  battle  of  Nicopolis, 
amounting  to  200,000  ducats.  A  provost  of  Valenciennes  repaired 
to  Paris  at  one  of  the  great  fairs  periodically  held  there,  and  pur- 
chased on  his  own  account  every  article  that  was  for  sale.  At  a 
repast  given  by  one  of  the  counts  of  Flanders  to  the  Flemish  mag- 
istrates the  seats  they  occupied  were  unfurnished  with  cushions. 
Those  proud  burghers  folded  their  sumptuous  cloaks  and  sat  on 
them.  After  the  feast  they  were  retiring  without  retaining  these 
important  and  costly  articles  of  dress,  and  on  a  courtier  reminding 
them  of  their  apparent  neglect,  the  burgomaster  of  Bruges  replied : 
"  We  Flemings  are  not  in  the  habit  of  carrying  away  the  cushions 
after  dinner ! "  The  meetings  of  the  different  towns  for  the  sports 
of  archery  were  signalized  by  the  most  splendid  display  of  dress 
and  decoration.  The  archers  were  habited  in  silk,  damask,  and 
the  finest  linen,  and  carried  chains  of  gold  of  great  weight  and 
value.  Luxury  was  at  its  height  among  women.  The  queen  of 
Philip  the  Fair  of  France,  on  a  visit  to  Bruges,  exclaimed,  with 
astonishment  not  unmixed  with  envy,  "  I  thought  myself  the  only 
queen  here;  but  I  see  six  hundred  others  who  appear  more  so 
than  L" 

The  court  of  Philip  the  Good  seemed  to  carry  magnificence 
and  splendor  to  their  greatest  possible  height.  The  dresses  of  both 
men  and  women  at  this  chivalric  epoch  were  of  almost  incredible 
expense.  Velvet,  satin,  gold,  and  precious  stones  seemed  the  ordi- 
nary materials  for  the  dress  of  either  sex,  while  the  very  housings 
of  the  horses  sparkled  with  brilliants  and  cost  immense  sums.  This 
absurd  extravagance  was  carried  so  far  that  Charles  V.  found  him- 
self forced  at  length  to  proclaim  sumptuary  laws  for  its  repression. 


6fi  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1400-1555 

The  style  of  the  banquets  given  on  g^and  occasions  was  regu- 
lated on  a  scale  of  almost  puerile  splendor.  The  banquet  of  vows 
given  at  Lille,  in  the  year  1453,  and  so  called  from  the  obligations 
entered  into  by  some  of  the  nobles  to  accompany  Philip  in  a  new 
crusade  against  the  infidels,  showed  a  succession  of  costly  fooleries, 
most  amusing  in  the  detail  given  by  an  eye-witness,  the  minutest 
of  the  chroniclers,  but  unluckily  too  long  to  find  a  place  in  our 
pages.^ 

Such  excessive  luxury  naturally  led  to  great  corruption  of 
manners  and  the  commission  of  terrible  crimes.  During  the  reign 
of  Philip  de  Male  there  were  committed  in  the  city  of  Ghent  and 
its  outskirts  in  less  than  a  year  above  1400  murders  in  gambling- 
houses  and  other  resorts  of  debauchery.  As  early  as  the  tenth 
century  the  petty  sovereigns  established  on  the  ruins  of  the  empire 
of  Charlemagne  began  the  independent  coining  of  money,  and  the 
various  provinces  were  during  the  rest  of  this  epoch  inundated  with 
a  most  embarrassing  variety  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper.  Even  in 
ages  of  comparative  darkness  literature  made  feeble  efforts  to 
burst  through  the  entangled  weeds  of  superstition,  ignorance,  and 
war.  In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  history  was  greatly 
cultivated,  and  Froissart,  Monstrelet,  Olivier  de  la  Marche,  and 
Philip  de  Comines  gave  to  their  chronicles  and  memoirs  a  charm 
of  style  since  their  days  almost  unrivaled.  Poetry  began  to  be  fol- 
lowed with  success  in  the  Netherlands,  in  the  Dutch,  Flemish,  and 
French  languages,  and  even  before  the  institution  of  the  Floral 
Games  ^in  France  Belgium  possessed  its  chambers  of  rhetoric 
(rederykkamers)  y  which  labored  to  keep  alive  the  sacred  flame  of 
poetry  with  more  zeal  than  success.  In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries  these  societies  were  established  in  almost  every  burgh  of 
Flanders  and  Brabant,  the  principal  towns  possessing  several  at 
once. 

The  arts  in  their  several  branches  made  considerable  progress 
in  the  Netherlands  during  this  epoch.  Architecture  was  greatly 
cultivated  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  most  of  the 
cathedrals  and  town  houses  being  constructed  in  that  age.  Their 
vastness,  solidity,  and  beauty  of  design  and  execution  make  them 
still  speaking  monuments  of  the  stern  magnificence  and  finished 
taste  of  the  times.    The  patronage  of  Philip  the  Good,  Charles  the 

2  See  Blok,  "History  of  the  Dutch   People,"  vol.  iii.  p.  283  S.,  from  the 
chronicle  of  Oliviervde  la  Marche. 


DESIDERICS    ERASMUS 

(Born    1465.     Died    1536) 

Painting    by    Hans    Holbein 

Lourre,   Paris 


CHARLES    V      OF     SPAIN  68 

1400-1555 

Rash,  and  Margaret  of  Austria  brought  music  into  fashion  and 
led  to  its  cultivation  in  a  remarkable  degree.  The  first  musicians 
of  France  were  drawn  from  Flanders,  and  other  professors  from 
that  country  acquired  great  celebrity  in  Italy  for  their  scientific 
improvements  in  their  delightful  art. 

Painting,  which  had  languished  before  the  fifteenth  century, 
sprung  at  once  into  a  new  existence  from  the  invention  of  John 
Van  Eyck,  known  better  by  the  name  of  John  of  Bruges.  His 
accidental  discovery  of  the  art  of  painting  in  oil  quickly  spread 
over  Europe,  and  served  to  perpetuate  to  all  time  the  records  of  the 
genius  which  has  bequeathed  its  vivid  impressions  to  the  world. 
Painting  on  glass,  polishing  diamonds,  the  carillon,  lace,  and 
tapestry,  were  among  the  inventions  which  owed  their  birth  to  the 
Netherlands  in  these  ages,  when  the  faculties  of  mankind  sought 
so  many  new  channels  for  mechanical  development.  The  discovery 
of  a  new  world  by  Columbus  and  other  eminent  navigators  gave  a 
fresh  and  powerful  impulse  to  European  talent,  by  affording  an 
immense  reservoir  for  its  reward.  The  town  of  Antwerp  was, 
during  the  reign  of  Charles  V.,  the  outlet  for  the  industry  of 
Europe  and  the  receptacle  for  the  productions  of  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  Its  port  was  so  often  crowded  with  vessels  that  each 
successive  fleet  was  obliged  to  wait  long  in  the  Scheldt  before  it 
could  obtain  admission  for  the  discharge  of  its  cargoes.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Louvain,  that  great  nursery  of  science,  was  founded  in 
1425,  and  served  greatly  to  the  spread  of  knowledge,  although  it 
degenerated  into  the  hotbed  of  fierce  theological  disputes. 

Charles  V.  was  the  first  to  establish  a  solid  plan  of  govern- 
ment instead  of  the  constant  fluctuations  in  the  management  of 
justice,  police,  and  finance.  He  caused  the  edicts  of  the  various 
sovereigns  and  the  municipal  usages  to  be  embodied  into  a  system 
of  laws,  and  thus  gave  stability  and  method  to  the  enjoyment  of 
the  prosperity  in  which  he  left  his  dominions. 

The  student  and  philosopher  Erasmus  belongs  to  this  time. 
Induced  at  an  early  age  to  enter  the  monastic  life,  by  the  hope  of 
its  opportunities  for  study,  he  soon  distinguished  himself  as  a  Latin 
scholar.  Impelled  by  varying  circumstances  as  well  as  by  his  own 
passion  for  travel,  Erasmus  visited  many  countries  of  Europe, 
never  remaining  long  in  one  place.  He  journeyed  to  Italy,  and  for  a 
while  sojourned  with  Aldus  and  his  companion  scholars  and 
printers   in  Venice,   where  the  accurate   scholarship  of  Erasmus 


64  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1400-1555 

eminently  contributed  to  the  Aldine  restoration  of  classical  letters. 
During  the  Lutheran  Revolt  Erasmus  was  suspected  of  heretical 
tendencies,  but  remained  faithful  to  the  church,  though  absolved 
from  his  monastic  vows  since  1516.  The  attitude  he  persistently 
maintained  was  that  of  mediator,  preaching  conciliation  on  the  one 
hand  and  moderation  on  the  other.  Erasmus  died  while  on  a 
visit  to  Basel  in  1536,  but  his  life  had  left  a  permanent  impression 
on  the  intellectual  development  of  Europe, 


PART  II 
THE   STRUGGLE   FOR   LIBERTY.    1555-1648 


Chapter     VII 

CONDITION    OF   THE   NETHERLANDS   UNDER 
PHILIP   II.  OF    SPAIN.     1555-1566 

IT  has  been  shown  that  the  Netherlands  were  never  in  a  more 
flourishing  state  than  at  the  accession  of  PhiHp  II.  The  ex- 
ternal relations  of  the  country  presented  an  aspect  of  pros- 
perity and  peace.  England  was  closely  allied  to  it  by  Queen  Mary's 
marriage  with  Philip;  France,  fatigued  with  war,  had  just  con- 
cluded with  it  a  five  years'  truce;  Germany,  paralyzed  by  religious 
dissensions,  exhausted  itself  in  domestic  quarrels;  the  other  states 
were  too  distant  or  too  weak  to  inspire  any  uneasiness,  and  nothing 
appeared  wanting  for  the  public  weal.  Nevertheless  there  was 
something  dangerous  and  alarming  in  the  situation  of  the  Low 
Countries,  but  the  danger  consisted  wholly  in  the  connection  be- 
tween the  monarch  and  the  people,  and  the  alarm  was  not  sounded 
till  the  mischief  was  beyond  remedy. 

From  the  time  that  Charles  V.  was  called  to  reign  over  Spain 
he  may  be  said  to  have  been  virtually  lost  to  the  country  of  his 
birth.  He  was  no  longer  a  mere  duke  of  Brabant  or  Limberg,  a 
count  of  Flanders  or  of  Holland ;  he  was  also  king  of  Castile, 
Aragon,  Leon,  and  Navarre,  of  Naples,  and  of  Sicily.  These  vari- 
ous kingdoms  had  interests  evidently  opposed  to  those  of  the  Low 
Countries,  and  forms  of  government  far  different.  It  was  scarcely 
to  be  doubted  that  the  absolute  monarch  of  so  many  people  would 
look  with  a  jealous  eye  on  the  institutions  of  those  provinces  which 
placed  limits  to  his  power;  and  the  natural  consequence  was  that 
he  who  was  a  legitimate  king  in  the  south  soon  degenerated  into 
a  usurping  master  in  the  north. 

But  during  the  reign  of  Charles  the  danger  was  in  some  meas- 
ure lessened,  or  at  least  concealed  from  public  view,  by  the  apparent 
facility  with  which  he  submitted  to  and  observed  the  laws  and 
customs  of  his  native  country.  With  Philip  the  case  was  far  differ- 
ent, and  the  results  too  obvious.  Uninformed  on  the  Belgian 
character,  despising  the  state  of  manners,  and  ignorant  of  the 
language,  no  sympathy  attached  him  to  the  people.     He  brought 

67 


# 


68  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

with  him  to  the  throne  all  the  hostile  prejudices  of  a  foreigner, 
without  one  of  the  kindly  or  considerate  feelings  of  a  compatriot. 

Spain,  where  this  young  prince  had  hitherto  passed  his  life, 
was  in  some  degree  excluded  from  European  civilization.  A  con- 
test of  seven  centuries  between  the  Mohammedan  tribes  and  the 
descendants  of  the  Visigoths,  cruel  like  all  civil  wars,  and,  like  all 
those  of  religion,  not  merely  a  contest  of  rulers,  but  essentially  of 
the  people,  had  given  to  the  manners  and  feelings  of  this  country 
a  deep  stamp  of  barbarity,  as  well  as  a  strong  religious  zeal  and  a 
crusading  spirit  unmatched  in  Europe.  In  Spain  the  Catholic 
Church  had  a  mighty  champion  against  the  rising  tide  of  Prot- 
estantism. 

The  new  King  of  Spain,  Philip  IL,  had  been  bred  in  a  school 
of  superstition  and  despotism.  Isolated  by  his  station  and  taught 
to  consider  himself  absolute  ruler  over  his  subjects,  he  was  appar- 
ently insensible  to  affection  or  natural  feeling.  Of  unbounded 
ambition,  great  natural  ability,  and  an  unsurpassed  capacity  for 
work,  his  suspicious  nature,  which  trusted  no  man,  led  him  to 
endeavor  to  control  all  the  business  of  his  huge  empire  to  the 
minutest  details;  and  it  was  this  very  devotion  to  an  impossible 
task  that  aided  materially  in  making  his  reign  disastrous  to  his 
country.  Above  all  things  he  was  a  devout  Catholic  to  the  very 
extremes  of  bigotry,  feeling  himself  a  chosen  instrument  for  the 
extirpation  of  heresy  throughout  the  world. 

Nature  had  endowed  Philip  with  wonderful  penetration  and 
unusual  self-command.  Although  ignorant,  he  had  a  prodigious 
instinct  of  cunning.  He  lacked  courage,  but  its  place  was  supplied 
by  a  harsh  obstinacy  which  never  faltered.  All  the  corruptions  of 
intrigue  were  familiar  to  him;  yet  he  often  failed  through  a  very 
excess  of  subtilty  and  bad  faith.  Not  till  recently  have  we  learned 
that  this  narrow,  cruel,  and  somber  king  was  also  capable  of  high 
ideals  and  noble  feelings  of  belief. 

Such  was  the  man  who  now  began  that  terrible  reign  which 
menaced  utter  ruin  to  the  national  prosperity  of  the  Netherlands. 
His  father  had  already  sapped  its  foundations,  by  encouraging  for- 
eign manners  and  ideas  among  the  nobility,  and  dazzling  them 
with  the  hope  of  the  honors  and  wealth  which  he  had  at  his  disposal 
abroad.  His  severe  edicts  against  heresy  had  also  begun  to  accus- 
tom the  nation  to  religious  discords  and  hatred.  Philip  soon 
enlarged  on  what  Charles  had  commenced,  and  he  unmercifully 


PHILIP     II      OF     SPAIN  69 

1555-1566 

sacrificed  the  well-being  of  a  people  to  the  worst  objects  of  his 
ambition. 

Philip  had  only  once  visited  the  Netherlands  before  his  acces- 
sion to  sovereign  power.  Being  at  that  time  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  his  opinions  were  formed  and  his  prejudices  deeply  rooted. 
Everything  that  he  observed  on  this  visit  was  calculated  to  revolt 
both.  The  frank  cordiality  of  the  people  appeared  too  familiar. 
The  expression  of  popular  rights  sounded  like  the  voice  of  re- 
bellion. Even  the  magnificence  displayed  in  his  honor  offended  his 
jealous  vanity.  From  that  moment  he  seems  to  have  conceived  an 
implacable  aversion  to  the  country,  in  which  alone,  of  all  his  vast 
possessions,  he  could  not  display  the  power  or  inspire  the  terror  of 
despotism. 

Philip  knew  well  that  force  alone  was  insufficient  to  reduce 
such  a  people  to  slavery.  He  succeeded  in  persuading  the  states  to 
grant  him  considerable  subsidies,  some  of  which  were  to  be  paid 
by  instalments  during  a  period  of  nine  years.  That  was  gaining 
a  great  step  toward  his  designs,  as  it  superseded  the  necessity  of  a 
yearly  application  to  the  three  orders,  the  guardians  of  the  public 
liberty.  At  the  same  time  he  sent  secret  agents  to  Rome,  to  obtain 
the  approbation  of  the  Pope  to  his  insidious  but  most  effective  plan 
for  placing  the  whole  of  the  clergy  in  dependence  upon  the  crown. 
He  also  kept  up  the  army  of  Spaniards  and  Germans  which  his 
father  had  formed  on  the  frontiers  of  France,  and  although  he 
did  not  remove  from  their  employments  the  functionaries  already 
in  place,  he  took  care  to  make  no  new  appointments  to  office 
among  the  natives  of  the  Netherlands. 

In  the  midst  of  these  cunning  preparations  for  tyranny  Philip 
was  suddenly  attacked  in  two  quarters  at  once — by  Henry  II.  of 
France,  and  by  Pope  Paul  IV.  A  prince  less  obstinate  than  Philip 
would  in  such  circumstances  have  renounced,  or  at  least  postponed, 
his  designs  against  the  liberties  of  so  important  a  part  of  his  do- 
minions as  those  to  which  he  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  for  aid 
in  support  of  this  double  war.  But  he  seemed  to  make  every 
foreign  consideration  subservient  to  the  object  of  domestic  aggres- 
sion which  he  had  so  much  at  heart. 

He,  however,  promptly  met  the  threatened  dangers  from 
abroad.  He  turned  his  first  attention  toward  his  contest  with  the 
Pope,  and  he  extricated  himself  from  it  with  an  adroitness  that 
proved  the  whole  force  and  cunning  of  his  character.    Having  first 


70  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

publicly  obtained  the  opinion  of  several  doctors  of  theology  that 
he  was  justified  in  taking  arms  against  the  Pontiff  (a  point  on 
which  he  really  had  no  doubt),  he  prosecuted  the  war  with  the 
utmost  vigor,  by  the  means  of  the  afterwards  notorious  Duke  of 
Alva,  at  that  time  viceroy  of  his  Italian  dominions.  Paul  soon 
yielded  to  superior  skill  and  force,  and  demanded  terms  of  peace, 
which  were  granted  with  a  readiness  and  seeming  liberality  that 
astonished  no  one  more  than  the  defeated  Pontiff.  But  Philip's 
moderation  to  his  enemy  was  far  outdone  by  his  perfidy  to  his 
allies.  He  confirmed  Alva's  consent  to  the  confiscation  of  the 
domains  of  the  Roman  nobles  who  had  espoused  his  cause,  and 
thus  gained  a  stanch  and  powerful  supporter  to  all  his  future 
projects  in  the  religious  authority  of  the  successor  of  St.  Peter. 

His  conduct  in  the  conclusion  of  the  war  with  France  was 
not  less  base.  His  army,  under  the  command  of  Philibert  Em- 
manuel, Duke  of  Savoy,  consisting  of  Belgians,  Germans,  and 
Spaniards,  with  a  considerable  body  of  English  sent  by  Mary  to 
the  assistance  of  her  husband,  penetrated  into  Picardy  and  gained 
a  complete  victory  over  the  French  forces.  The  honor  of  this 
brilliant  affair,  which  took  place  near  St.  Quentin,  was  almost 
wholly  due  to  the  Count  of  Egmont,  a  Belgian  noble  who  com- 
manded the  light  cavalry;  but  the  king,  unwilling  to  let  any  one 
man  enjoy  the  glory  of  the  day,  piously  pretended  that  he  owed 
the  entire  obligation  to  St.  Lawrence,  on  whose  festival  the  battle 
was  fought.  His  gratitude  or  hypocrisy  found  a  fitting  monument 
in  the  celebrated  convent  and  palace  of  the  Escurial,  which  he 
caused  to  be  built  in  the  form  of  a  gridiron,  the  instrument  of  the 
saint's  martyrdom.  When  the  news  of  the  victory  reached  Charles 
V.  in  his  retreat,  the  old  warrior  inquired  if  Philip  was  in  Paris, 
but  the  cautious  victor  had  no  notion  of  such  prompt  maneuvering, 
nor  would  he  risk  against  foreign  enemies  the  exhaustion  of  forces 
destined  for  the  enslavement  of  his  people. 

The  French  in  some  measure  retrieved  their  late  disgrace  by 
the  capture  of  Calais,  the  only  town  remaining  to  England  of  all 
its  French  conquests,  and  which,  consequently,  had  deeply  inter- 
ested the  national  glory  of  each  people.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
year  1558  one  of  the  generals  of  Henry  II.  made  an  irruption  into 
western  Flanders,  but  the  gallant  Count  of  Egmont  once  more 
proved  his  valor  and  skill  by  attacking  and  totally  defeating  the 
invaders  near  the  town  of  Gravelines. 


PHILIP     II      OF     SPAIN  71 

1565-1566 

A  general  peace  was  concluded  in  April,  1559,  which  bore  the 
name  of  Cateau-Cambresis,  from  that  of  the  place  where  it  was 
negotiated.  Philip  secured  for  himself  various  advantages  in  the 
treaty,  but  he  sacrificed  the  interests  of  England  by  consenting  to 
the  retention  of  Calais  by  the  French  king,  a  cession  deeply  hu- 
miliating to  the  national  pride  of  his  allies ;  and,  if  general  opinion 
be  correct,  a  proximate  cause  of  his  consort's  death.  The  alliance 
of  France  and  the  support  of  Rome,  the  important  results  of  the 
two  wars  now  brought  to  a  close,  were  counterbalanced  by  the 
well-known  hostility  of  Elizabeth,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  throne 
of  England,  and  this  latter  consideration  was  an  additional  motive 
with  Philip  to  push  forward  the  design  of  consolidating  his 
despotism  in  the  Low  Countries. 

To  lead  his  already  deceived  subjects  the  more  surely  into  the 
snare,  he  announced  his  intended  departure  on  a  short  visit  to 
Spain ;  and  created  for  the  period  of  his  absence  a  provisional  gov- 
ernment, chiefly  composed  of  the  leading  men  among  the  Belgian 
nobility.  He  flattered  himself  that  the  states,  dazzled  by  the  illus- 
trious illusion  thus  prepared,  would  cheerfully  grant  to  this 
provisional  government  the  right  of  levying  taxes  during  the  tem- 
porary absence  of  the  sovereign.  He  also  reckoned  on  the  influence 
of  the  clergy  in  the  national  assembly,  to  procure  the  revival  of  the 
edicts  against  heresy,  which  he  had  gained  the  merit  of  suspending. 
These,  with  many  minor  details  of  profound  duplicity,  formed  the 
principal  features  of  a  plan  which,  if  successful,  would  have  re- 
duced the  Netherlands  to  the  wretched  state  of  colonial  dependence 
by  which  Naples  and  Sicily  were  held  in  the  tenure  of  Spain. 

As  soon  as  the  states  had  consented  to  place  the  whole  powers 
of  government  in  the  hands  of  the  new  administration  for  the 
period  of  the  king's  absence,  Philip  believed  his  scheme  secure,  and 
flattered  himself  he  had  established  an  instrument  of  durable 
despotism.  The  composition  of  this  new  government  was  a  mas- 
terpiece of  political  machinery.  It  consisted  of  several  councils,  in 
which  the  most  distinguished  citizens  were  entitled  to  a  place,  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  deceive  the  people  with  a  show  of  representa- 
tion, but  not  enough  to  command  a  majority,  which  was  sure  on 
any  important  question  to  rest  with  the  titled  creatures  of  the  court. 
The  edicts  against  heresy,  soon  adopted,  gave  to  the  clergy  an 
almost  unlimited  power  over  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  the  people. 
But  almost  all  the  dignitaries  of  the  church  being  men  of  great 


72  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

respectability  and  moderation,  chosen  by  the  body  of  the  inferior 
clergy,  these  extraordinary  powers  excited  little  alarm.  Philip's 
project  was  suddenly  to  replace  these  ecclesiastics  by  others  of  his 
own  choice  as  soon  as  the  states  broke  up  from  their  annual  meet- 
ing, and  for  this  intention  he  had  procured  the  secret  consent  and 
authority  of  the  court  of  Rome. 

To  complete  the  execution  of  his  system,  Philip  convened  an 
assembly  of  all  the  states  at  Ghent  in  the  month  of  July,  1559. 
This  meeting  of  the  representatives  of  the  three  orders  of  the  state 
offered  no  apparent  obstacle  to  Philip's  views.  The  clergy,  alarmed 
at  the  progress  of  the  new  doctrines,  gathered  more  closely  round 
the  government  of  which  they  required  the  support.  The  nobles 
had  lost  much  of  their  ancient  attachment  to  liberty,  and  had  be- 
come, in  various  ways,  dependent  on  the  royal  favor.  Many  of 
the  first  families  were  then  represented  by  men  possessed  rather  of 
courage  and  candor  than  of  foresight  and  sagacity.  That  of 
Nassau,  the  most  distinguished  of  all,  seemed  the  least  interested 
in  the  national  cause.  A  great  part  of  its  possessions  were  in 
Germany  and  France,  where  it  had  recently  acquired  the  sovereign 
principality  of  Orange.  It  was  only  from  the  third  order — that  of 
the  commons — that  Philip  had  to  expect  any  opposition.  Already 
during  the  war  it  had  shown  some  discontent,  and  had  insisted  on 
the  nomination  of  commissioners  to  control  the  accounts  and  the 
disbursements  of  the  subsidies.  But  it  seemed  improbable  that 
among  this  class  of  men  any  would  be  found  capable  of  penetrating 
the  manifold  combinations  of  the  king  and  disconcerting  his 
designs. 

Anthony  Perrenot  de  Granvelle,  Bishop  of  Arras,  who  was 
considered  as  Philip's  favorite  counselor,  but  who  was  in  reality  no 
more  than  his  docile  agent,  was  commissioned  to  address  the  as- 
sembly in  the  name  of  his  master,  who  spoke  only  Spanish.  His 
oration  was  one  of  cautious  deception,  and  contained  the  most 
flattering  assurances  of  Philip's  attachment  to  the  people  of  the 
Netherlands.  It  excused  the  king  for  not  having  nominated  his 
only  son,  Don  Carlos,  to  reign  over  them  in  his  name,  alleging, 
as  a  proof  of  his  royal  affection,  that  he  preferred  giving  them  as 
governant  a  Belgian  princess,  Madame  Marguerite,  Duchess  of 
Parma,  the  natural  daughter  of  Charles  V.  Fair  promises  and  fine 
words  were  thus  lavished  in  profusion  to  gain  the  confidence  of 
the  deputies. 


MARGUERITE.    DUCHESS    OK    TAKMA 

(Born    1522.     Died    1586) 

Painting    by    Antonio    Mora 

Imperial   Gallery,    Vienna 


PHILIP    II      OF    SPAIN  7S 

1555-1566 

But  notwithstanding  all  the  talent,  the  caution,  and  the  mys- 
tery of  Philip  and  his  minister,  there  was  among  the  nobles  one 
man  who  saw  through  all.  This  individual,  endowed  with  many 
of  the  highest  attributes  of  political  genius,  and  preeminently  with 
judgment,  the  most  important  of  all,  entered  fearlessly  into  the 
contest  against  tyranny — despising  every  personal  sacrifice  for  the 
country's  good.  Without  making  himself  suspiciously  prominent, 
he  privately  warned  some  members  of  the  states  of  the  coming 
danger.  Those  in  whom  he  confided  did  not  betray  the  trust. 
They  spread  among  the  other  deputies  the  alarm,  and  pointed  out 
the  danger  to  which  they  had  been  so  judiciously  awakened.  The 
consequence  was  a  reply  to  Philip's  demand,  in  vague  and  general 
terms,  without  binding  the  nation  by  any  pledge,  and  a  unanimous 
entreaty  that  he  would  diminish  the  taxes,  withdraw  the  foreign 
troops,  and  entrust  no  oflEicial  employments  to  any  but  natives  of 
the  country.  The  object  of  this  last  request  was  the  removal  of 
Granvelle,  who  was  born  in  Franche-Comte. 

Philip  was  utterly  astounded  at  all  this.  In  the  first  moment 
of  his  vexation  he  imprudently  cried  out,  "  Would  ye,  then,  also  be- 
reave me  of  my  place ;  I,  who  am  a  Spaniard  ?  "  But  he  soon  recov- 
ered his  self-command,  and  resumed  his  usual  mask,  expressed 
his  regret  at  not  having  sooner  learned  the  wishes  of  the  states, 
promised  to  remove  the  foreign  troops  within  three  months,  and 
set  off  for  Zealand,  with  assumed  composure,  but  filled  with  fury. 

A  fleet  under  the  command  of  Count  Horn,  the  admiral  of  the 
United  Provinces,  waited  at  Flessingue  to  form  his  escort  to  Spain. 
At  the  very  moment  of  his  departure,  William  of  Nassau,  Prince 
of  Orange  and  governor  of  Zealand,  waited  on  him  to  pay  his 
official  respects.  The  king,  taking  him  apart  from  the  other 
attendant  nobles,  recommended  him  to  hasten  the  execution  of 
several  gentlemen  and  wealthy  citizens  attached  to  the  newly  intro- 
duced religious  opinions.  Then  quite  suddenly,  whether  in  the 
random  impulse  of  suppressed  rage,  or  that  his  piercing  glance 
discovered  William's  secret  feelings  in  his  countenance,  he  accused 
him  with  having  been  the  means  of  thwarting  his  designs.  "  Sire," 
replied  Nassau,  "  it  was  the  work  of  the  national  states."  "  No ! " 
cried  Philip,  grasping  him  furiously  by  the  arm ;  "  it  was  not  done 
by  the  states,  but  by  you,  and  you  alone !  "  * 

*  The  words  of  Philip  were :  "  No,  no  los  estados;  ma  vos,  vos,  vos! "    Vox 
thus  used  in  Spanish  is  a  term  of  contempt,  equivalent  to  toi  in  French. 


74  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

For  some  time  after  Philip's  departure  the  Netherlands  con- 
tinued to  enjoy  considerable  prosperity.  From  the  period  of  the 
Peace  of  Cateau-Cambresis  commerce  and  navigation  had  acquired 
new  and  increasing  activity.  The  fisheries,  but  particularly  that 
of  herring,  which  alone  occupied  two  thousand  boats,  became 
daily  more  important.  While  Holland,  Zealand,  and  Friesland 
made  this  progress  in  their  peculiar  branches  of  industry,  the 
southern  provinces  were  not  less  active  or  successful.  Sprain  and 
the  colonies  offered  such  a  mart  for  the  objects  of  their  manufac- 
ture that  in  a  single  year  they  received  from  Flanders  fifty  large 
ships  filled  with  articles  of  household  furniture  and  utensils.  The 
exportation  of  woolen  goods  amounted  to  enormous  sums.  Bruges 
alone  sold  annually  to  the  amount  of  four  million  florins  of  stuffs 
of  Spanish,  and  as  much  of  English  wool ;  and  the  least  value  of  the 
florin  then  was  quadruple  its  present  worth.  The  commerce  with 
England,  though  less  important  than  that  with  Spain,  was  calcu- 
lated yearly  at  twenty-four  million  florins,  which  was  chiefly  clear 
profit  to  the  Netherlands,  as  their  exportations  consisted  almost 
entirely  of  objects  of  their  own  manufacture.  Their  commercial 
relations  with  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Portugal,  and  the  Levant 
were  daily  increasing.  Antwerp  was  the  center  of  this  prodigious 
trade.  Several  sovereigns,  among  others  Elizabeth  of  England, 
had  recognized  agents  in  that  city,  equivalent  to  consuls  of  the 
present  times,  and  loans  of  immense  amount  were  frequently  nego- 
tiated by  them  with  wealthy  merchants,  who  furnished  them,  not 
in  negotiable  bills  or  for  unredeemable  debentures,  but  in  solid 
gold,  and  on  a  simple  acknowledgment.^ 

Flanders  and  Brabant  were  still  the  richest  and  most  flourish- 
ing portions  of  the  state.  Some  municipal  fetes  given  about  this 
time  afford  a  notion  of  their  opulence.  On  one  of  these  occasions 
the  town  of  Mechlin  sent  a  deputation  to  Antwerp,  consisting  of 
326  horsemen  dressed  in  velvet  and  satin,  with  gold  and  silver 
ornaments;  while  those  of  Brussels  consisted  of  340,  as  splendidly 
equipped,  and  accompanied  by  7  huge  triumphal  chariots  and  78 
carriages  of  various  construction — a  prodigious  number  for  those 
days. 

But  the  splendor  and  prosperity  which  thus  sprung  out  of  the 
national  industry  and  independence,  and  which  a  wise  or  a  gen- 

2   Elizabeth's  agent  was  for  long  the  famous  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  foimder 
of  the  Royal  Exchange  in  London. 


PHILIP     II,     OF     SPAIN  76 

1555-1566 

erous  sovereign  would  have  promoted,  or  at  least  have  established 
on  a  permanent  basis,  were  destined  speedily  to  sink  beneath  the 
bigoted  fury  of  Philip  II.  The  new  government  which  he  had 
established  was  most  ingeniously  adapted  to  produce  every  im- 
aginable evil  to  the  state.  The  king,  hundreds  of  leagues  distant, 
could  not  himself  issue  an  order  but  with  a  lapse  of  time  ruinous 
to  any  object  of  pressing  importance.  The  governant-general,  who 
represented  him,  had  but  a  nominal  authority,  and  was  forced  to 
follow  her  instructions,  and  liable  to  have  all  her  acts  reversed; 
besides"  which,  she  had  the  king's  orders  to  consult  her  private 
council  on  all  affairs  whatever,  and  the  council  of  state  on  any 
matter  of  paramount  importance.  These  two  councils,  however, 
contained  the  elements  of  a  serious  opposition  to  the  royal  projects, 
in  the  persons  of  the  patriot  nobles  sprinkled  among  Philip's  de- 
voted creatures.  Thus  the  influence  of  the  crown  was  often 
thwarted,  if  not  actually  balanced,  and  the  proposals  which  ema- 
nated from  it  were  frequently  opposed  by  the  governant  herself. 
She,  although  a  woman  of  masculine  appearance  and  habits,  was 
possessed  of  no  strength  of  mind.  Her  prevailing  sentiment 
seemed  to  be  dread  of  the  king,  yet  she  was  at  times  influenced  by 
a  sense  of  justice  and  by  the  remonstrances  of  the  well-judging 
members  of  her  councils.  But  these  were  not  all  the  difficulties 
that  clogged  the  machinery  of  the  state.  After  the  king,  the  gov- 
ernment, and  the  councils  had  deliberated  on  any  measure,  its 
execution  rested  with  the  provincial  governors  or  stadtholders,  or 
the  magistrates  of  the  towns.  Almost  every  one  of  these,  being 
strongly  attached  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  nation,  hesitated 
or  refused  to  obey  the  orders  conveyed  to  them  when  those  orders 
appeared  illegal.  Some,  however,  yielded  to  the  authority  of  the 
government,  so  it  often  happened  that  an  edict,  which  in  one  district 
was  carried  into  full  effect,  was  in  others  deferred,  rejected,  or 
violated  in  a  way  productive  of  great  confusion  in  the  public 
affairs. 

Philip  was  conscious  that  he  had  himself  to  blame  for  the 
consequent  disorder.  In  nominating  the  members  of  the  two  coun- 
cils he  had  overreached  himself  in  his  plan  for  silently  sapping  the 
liberty  that  was  so  obnoxious  to  his  designs.  But  to  neutralize  the 
influence  of  the  restive  members  he  had  left  Granvelle  the  first  place 
in  the  administration.  This  man,  an  immoral  ecclesiastic,  an 
eloquent  orator,  a  supple  courtier,  and  a  profound  politician,  was 


76  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

the  real  head  of  the  government.  Next  to  him  among  the  royahst 
party  was  VigHus,  president  of  the  privy  council,  an  erudite  school- 
man, attached  less  to  the  broad  principles  of  justice  than  to  the 
letter  of  the  laws,  and  thus  carrying  pedantry  into  the  very  councils 
of  the  state.  Next  in  order  came  the  Count  de  Barlaimont,  head 
of  the  financial  department, — a  stern  and  intolerant  satellite  of  the 
court,  and  a  furious  enemy  to  those  national  institutions  which 
•operated  as  checks  upon  fraud.  These  three  individuals  formed 
the  governant's  privy  council.  The  remaining  creatures  of  the 
king  were  mere  subaltern  agents. 

A  government  so  composed  could  scarcely  fail  to  excite  dis- 
content and  create  danger  to  the  public  weal.  The  first  proof  of 
incapacity  was  elicited  by  the  measures  required  for  the  departure 
of  the  Spanish  troops.  The  period  fixed  by  the  king  had  already 
expired,  and  these  obnoxious  foreigners  were  still  in  the  country, 
living  in  part  on  pillage,  and  each  day  committing  some  new  excess. 
Complaints  were  carried  in  successive  gradation  from  the  govern- 
ment to  the  council,  and  from  the  council  to  the  king.  The 
Spaniards  were  removed  to  Zealand,  but  instead  of  being  embarked 
at  any  of  its  ports,  they  were  detained  there  on  various  pretexts. 
Money,  ships,  or,  on  necessity,  a  wind  was  professed  to  be  still 
wanting  for  their  final  removal  by  those  who  found  excuses  for 
delay  in  every  element  of  nature  or  subterfuge  of  art.  In  the 
meantime  those  ferocious  soldiers  ravaged  a  part  of  the  country. 
The  simple  natives  at  length  declared  they  would  open  the  sluices 
of  their  dikes,  preferring  to  be  swallowed  by  the  waters  rather 
than  remain  exposed  to  the  cruelty  and  rapacity  of  those  Spaniards. 
Still  the  embarkation  was  postponed,  until  the  king  requiring  his 
troops  in  Spain  for  some  domestic  project,  they  took  their  long 
desired  departure  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1561. 

The  public  discontent  at  this  just  cause  was  soon,  however, 
overwhelmed  by  one  infinitely  more  important  and  lasting.  The 
Belgian  clergy  had  hitherto  formed  a  free  and  powerful  order  in 
the  state,  governed  and  represented  by  four  bishops  chosen  by  the 
chapters  of  the  towns,  or  elected  by  the  monks  of  the  principal 
abbeys.  These  bishops,  possessing  an  independent  territorial  rev- 
enue, and  not  directly  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  crown,  had 
interests  and  feeling's  in  common  with  the  nation.  But  Philip  had 
prepared,  and  the  Pope  had  sanctioned,  a  new  system  of  ecclesias- 
tical organization,  and  the  provisional  government  now  put  it  int(> 


PHILIP     II       OF     SPAIN  77 

1555-1566 

execution.  Instead  of  four  bishops,  it  was  intended  to  appoint 
eighteen,  their  nominations  being-  vested  in  the  king.  By  a  wily 
system  of  trickery  the  subserviency  of  the  abbeys  was  also  aimed  at. 
The  new  prelates,  on  a  pretended  principle  of  economy,  were  en- 
dowed with  the  title  of  abbots  of  the  chief  monasteries  of  their 
respective  dioceses. 

The  consequences  of  this  vital  blow  to  the  integrity  of  the 
national  institutions  were  evident,  and  the  indignation  of  both 
clergy  and  laity  was  universal.  Every  legal  means  of  opposition 
was  resorted  to,  but  the  people  were  without  leaders,  the  states 
were  not  in  session.  While  the  authority  of  the  Pope  and  the  king 
combined,  the  reverence  excited  by  the  very  name  of  religion,  and 
the  address  and  perseverance  of  the  government,  formed  too  power- 
ful a  combination,  and  triumphed  over  the  national  discontents 
which  had  not  yet  been  formed  in  resistance.  The  new  bishops  were 
appointed,  Granvelle  securing  for  himself  the  archiepiscopal  see  of 
Mechlin,  with  the  title  of  Primate  of  the  Low  Countries.  At  the 
same  time  Paul  IV.  put  the  crowning  point  to  the  capital  of  his 
ambition  by  presenting  him  with  a  cardinal's  hat. 

The  new  bishops  were  to  a  man  most  violent,  intolerant,  and 
it  may  be  conscientious,  opponents  to  the  wide-spreading  doctrines 
of  reform.  The  execution  of  the  edicts  against  heresy  was  con- 
fided to  them.  The  provincial  governors  and  inferior  magistrates 
were  commanded  to  aid  them  with  a  strong  arm,  and  the  most 
unjust  and  frightful  persecution  immediately  commenced.  But  still 
some  of  these  governors  and  magistrates,  considering  themselves 
not  only  the  officers  of  the  prince,  but  the  protectors  of  the  people, 
and  the  defenders  of  the  laws  rather  than  of  the  faith,  did  not 
blindly  conform  to  those  harsh  and  illegal  commands.  The  Prince 
of  Orange,  stadtholder  of  Holland,  Zealand,  and  Utrecht,  and  the 
Count  of  Egmont,  governor  of  Flanders  and  Artois,  permitted  no 
persecutions  in  those  five  provinces.  But  in  various  places  the  very 
pec^le,  even,  when  influenced  by  their  superiors,  openly  opposed  it. 
Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants  were  indignant  at  the  atrocious 
spectacles  of  cruelty  presented  on  all  sides.  The  public  peace  was 
endangered  by  isolated  acts  of  resistance,  and  fears  of  a  general 
insurrection  soon  became  universal. 

Among  the  various  causes  of  the  general  confusion,  the  sit- 
uation of  Brabant  gave  to  that  province  a  peculiar  share  of  suffer- 
ing.     Brussels,  its  capital,  being  the  seat  of  government,  had  no 


78  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

particular  chief  magistrate,  like  the  other  provinces.  The  executive 
power  was  therefore  wholly  confided  to  the  municipal  authorities 
and  the  territorial  proprietors.  But  these,  though  generally  pa- 
triotic in  their  views,  were  divided  into  a  multiplicity  of  different 
opinions.  Rivalry  and  resentment  produced  a  total  want  of  union, 
ended  in  anarchy,  and  prepared  the  way  for  civil  war.  William  of 
Orange  penetrated  the  cause,  and  proposed  the  remedy  in  moving 
for  the  appointment  of  a  provincial  governor.  This  proposition 
terrified  Granvelle,  who  saw,  as  clearly  as  did  his  sagacious  op- 
ponent in  the  council,  that  the  nomination  of  a  special  protector 
between  the  people  and  the  government  would  have  paralyzed  all 
his  efforts  for  hurrying  on  the  discord  and  resistance  which  were 
meant  to  be  the  plausible  excuses  for  the  introduction  of  arbitrary 
power.  He  therefore  energetically  dissented  from  the  proposed 
measure,  and  William  immediately  desisted  from  his  demand.  But 
he  at  the  same  time  claimed,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  country,  the 
convocation  of  the  states-general.  This  assembly  alone  was  com- 
petent to  decide  what  was  just,  legal,  and  obligatory  for  each 
province  and  every  town.  Govern'ors,  magistrates,  and  simple 
citizens  would  thus  have  some  rule  for  their  common  conduct,  and 
the  government  would  be  at  least  endowed  with  the  dignity  of 
uniformity  and  steadiness.  The  ministers  endeavored  to  evade  a 
demand  which  they  were  at  first  unwilling  openly  to  refuse.  But 
the  firm  demeanor  and  persuasive  eloquence  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange  carried  before  them  all  who  were  not  actually  bought  by 
the  crown,  and  Granvelle  found  himself  at  length  forced  to  avow 
that  an  express  order  from  the  king  forbade  the  convocation  of 
the  states,  on  any  pretext,  during  his  absence. 

The  veil  was  thus  rent  asunder,  which  had  in  some  measure 
concealed  the  deformity  of  Philip's  despotism.  The  result  was  a 
powerful  confederacy  among  all  who  held  it  odious,  for  the  over- 
throw of  Granvelle,  to  whom  they  chose  to  attribute  the  king's 
conduct.  Many  of  the  royalist  nobles  united  for  the  national  cause, 
and  even  the  governant  joined  her  efforts  to  theirs,  for  an  object 
which  would  relieve  her  from  the  tyranny  which  none  felt  more 
than  she  did.  Those  who  composed  this  confederacy  against  the 
minister  were  actuated  by  a  great  variety  of  motives.  The  Duchess 
of  Parma  hated  him,  as  a  domestic  spy  robbing  her  of  all  real 
authority;  the  royalist  nobles,  as  an  insolent  upstart  at  every  in- 
stant mortifying  their  pride.      The  Counts   Egmont  and   Horn,  , 


PHILIP     II       OF     SPAIN  79 

1555-1566 

with  nobler  sentiments,  opposed  him  as  the  author  of  their  coun- 
try's growing  misfortunes.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  the  con- 
federates except  the  Prince  of  Orange  clearly  saw  that  they  were 
putting  themselves  in  direct  and  personal  opposition  to  the  king 
himself.  William  alone,  clear-sighted  in  politics  and  profound  in 
his  views,  knew  in  thus  devoting  himself  to  the  public  cause  the 
adversary  with  whom  he  entered  the  lists. 

This  great  man,  for  whom  the  national  traditions  still  preserve 
the  sacred  title  of  "father"  (Vader-Willcm) ,  and  who  was  in 
truth  not  merely  the  parent,  but  the  political  creator  of  the  coun- 
try, was  at  this  period  in  his  thirtieth  year.  He  already  joined  the 
vigor  of  manhood  to  the  wisdom  of  age.  Brought  up  under  the 
eye  of  Charles  V.,  whose  sagacity  soon  discovered  his  precocious 
talents,  he  was  admitted  to  the  councils  of  the  emperor,  at  a  time 
of  life  which  was  little  advanced  beyond  mere  boyhood.  He  alone 
was  chosen  by  this  powerful  sovereign  to  be  present  at  the  au- 
diences which  he  gave  to  foreign  ambassadors,  which  proves  that 
in  early  youth  he  well  deserved  by  his  discretion  the  surname  of 
"  the  Taciturn."  It  was  on  the  arm  of  William,  then  twenty  years 
of  age,  and  already  named  by  him  to  the  command  of  the  Belgian 
troops,  that  this  powerful  monarch  leaned  for  support  on  the  mem- 
orable day  of  his  abdication ;  and  he  immediately  afterwards  em- 
ployed him  on  the  important  mission  of  bearing  the  imperial  crown 
to  his  brother  Ferdinand,  in  whose  favor  he  had  resigned  it.  Wil- 
liam's grateful  attachment  to  Charles  did  not  blind  him  to  the 
demerits  of  Philip.  He  repaired  to  France,  as  one  of  the  hostages 
on  the  part  of  the  latter  monarch  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  peace 
of  Cateau-Cambresis,  and  he  then  learned  from  the  lips  of  Henry 
II.,  who  soon  conceived  a  high  esteem  for  him,  the  measures  recip- 
rocally agreed  on  by  the  two  sovereigns  for  the  oppression  of  their 
subjects.  From  that  moment  his  mind  was  made  up  on  the  char- 
acter of  Philip,  and  on  the  part  which  he  had  himself  to  perform ; 
and  he  never  felt  a  doubt  on  the  first  point,  nor  swerved  from  the 
latter. 

But  even  before  his  patriotism  was  openly  displayed,  Philip 
had  taken  a  dislike  to  one  in  whom  his  shrewdness  quickly  dis- 
covered an  intellect  of  which  he  was  jealous.  He  could  not  actually 
remove  William  from  all  interference  with  public  affairs,  but  he 
refused  him  the  government  of  Flanders,  and  opposed  in  secret  his 
projected  marriage  with  a  princess  of  the  house  of  Lorraine,  which 


80  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

was  calculated  to  bring  him  a  considerable  accession  of  fortune, 
and  consequently  of  influence. 

It  is,  therefore,  possible  that  William's  subsequent  conduct 
was  influenced  by  feelings  of  personal  enmity  toward  Philip.  The 
secret  impulses  of  conduct  can  never  be  known  beyond  the  indi- 
vidual's own  breast,  but  actions,  however  questionable,  must  be 
taken  as  the  tests  of  motives.  In  all  those  of  William's  illustrious 
career  we  can  detect  none  that  might  be  supposed  to  spring  from 
vulgar  or  base  feelings.  If  his  hostility  to  Philip  was  indeed  in- 
creased by  private  dislike,  he  has  at  least  set  an  example  of  un- 
paralleled dignity  in  his  method  of  revenge;  but  in  calmly  consid- 
ering and  weighing,  without  deciding  on  the  question,  we  see  noth- 
ing that  should  deprive  William  of  an  unsullied  title  to  pure  and 
perfect  patriotism.  The  injuries  done  to  him  by  Philip  at  this 
period  were  not  of  a  nature  to  excite  any  violent  hatred.  Enough 
of  public  wrong  was  inflicted  to  arouse  the  patriot,  but  not  of 
private  ill  to  inflame  the  man.  Neither  was  William  of  a  vindic- 
tive disposition.  He  was  never  known  to  turn  the  knife  of  an 
assassin  against  his  royal  rival,  even  when  the  blade  hired  by  the 
latter  glanced  from  him  reeking  with  his  blood.  And  though 
William's  enmity  may  have  been  kept  alive  or  strengthened  by  the 
provocations  he  received,  it  is  certain  that,  if  a  foe  to  the  king,  he 
was,  as  long  as  it  was  possible,  the  faithful  counselor  of  the  crown. 
He  spared  no  pains  to  impress  on  the  monarch  who  hated  him  the 
real  means  for  preventing  the  coming  evils,  and  had  not  a  revolu- 
tion been  absolutely  inevitable,  it  is  he  who  would  have  prevented  it. 

Such  was  the  chief  of  the  patriot  party,  chosen  by  the  silent 
election  of  general  opinion  and  by  that  involuntary  homage  to 
genius  which  leads  individuals  in  the  train  of  those  master-minds 
who  take  the  lead  in  public  affairs.  Counts  Egmont  and  Horn 
and  some  others  largely  shared  with  him  the  popular  favor.  The 
multitude  could  not  for  some  time  distinguish  the  uncertain  and 
capricious  opposition  of  an  offended  courtier  from  the  determined 
resistance  of  a  great  man.  William  was  still  comparatively  young, 
he  had  lived  long  out  of  the  country,  and  it  was  little  by  little  that 
his  eminent  public  virtues  were  developed  and  understood. 

The  great  object  of  immediate  good  was  the  removal  of  Car- 
dinal Granvelle.  William  boldly  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
confederacy.  He  wrote  to  the  king,  conjointly  with  Counts  Eg- 
mont and  Horn,  faithfully  portraying  the  state  of  affairs.      The 


PHILIP     II       OF     SPAIN  81 

1555-1566 

Duchess  of  Parma  backed  this  remonstrance  with  a  strenuous  re- 
quest for  Granvelle's  dismissal.  Philip's  reply  to  the  three  noble- 
men was  a  mere  tissue  of  duplicity  to  obtain  delay,  accompanied  by 
an  invitation  to  Count  Egmont  to  repair  to  Madrid,  to  hear  his 
sentiments  at  large  by  word  of  mouth.  His  only  answer  to  the 
governant  was  a  positive  recommendation  to  use  every  possible 
means  to  disunite  and  breed  ill-will  among  the  three  confederate 
lords.  It  was  difficult  to  deprive  William  of  the  confidence  of  his 
friends,  and  impossible  to  deceive  him.  He  saw  the  trap  prepared 
by  the  royal  intrigues,  restrained  Egmont  for  a  while  from  the  fatal 
step  he  was  but  too  well  inclined  to  take,  and  persuaded  him  and 
Horn  to  renew  with  him  their  firm  but  respectful  representations, 
at  the  same  time  begging  permission  to  resign  their  various  em- 
ployments, and  simultaneously  ceasing  to  appear  at  the  court  of  the 
governant. 

In  the  meantime  every  possible  indignity  was  offered  to  the 
cardinal  by  private  pique  and  public  satire.  Several  lords,  fol- 
lowing Count  Egmont's  example,  had  a  kind  of  capuchon  or  fool's 
cap  embroidered  on  the  liveries  of  their  varlets,  and  it  was  gen- 
erally known  that  this  was  meant  as  a  practical  parody  on  the 
cardinal's  hat.  The  crowd  laughed  heartily  at  this  stupid  pleas- 
antry, and  the  coarse  satire  of  the  times  may  be  judged  by  a  carica- 
ture, which  was  forwarded  to  the  cardinal's  own  hands,  represent- 
ing him  in  the  act  of  hatching  a  nestful  of  eggs,  from  which  a 
crowd  of  bishops  escaped,  while  overhead  was  the  devil  in  propria 
persona,  with  the  following  scroll :  "  This  is  my  well-beloved  son 
— listen  to  him !  " 

Philip,  thus  driven  before  the  popular  voice,  found  himself 
forced  to  the  choice  of  throwing  off  the  mask  at  once  or  of  sacrific- 
ing Granvelle.  An  invincible  inclination  for  maneuvering  and  de- 
ceit decided  him  on  the  latter  measure,  and  the  cardinal,  recalled 
but  not  disgraced,  quitted  the  Netherlands  on  March  lo,  1564. 
The  secret  instructions  to  the  governant  remained  unrevoked,  the 
president,  Viglius,  succeeded  to  the  post  which  Granvelle  had  oc- 
cupied, and  it  was  clear  that  the  projects  of  the  king  had  suffered 
no  change. 

Nevertheless  some  good  resulted  from  the  departure  of  the 
unpopular  minister.  The  public  fermentation  subsided,  the  patriot 
lords  reappeared  at  court,  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  acquired  an 
increasing  influence  in  the  council  and  over  the  governant,  who 


82  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

by  his  advice  adopted  a  conciliatory  line  of  conduct — a  fallacious, 
but  still  a  temporary  hope  for  the  nation.  But  the  calm  was  of 
short  duration.  Scarcely  was  this  moderation  evinced  by  the  gov- 
ernment when  Philip,  obstinate  in  his  designs  and  outrageous  in 
his  resentment,  sent  an  order  to  have  the  edicts  against  heresy  put 
into  most  rigorous  execution,  and  to  proclaim  throughout  the 
seventeen  provinces  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent. 

The  revolting  cruelty  of  the  first  edicts  were  already  admitted. 
As  to  the  decrees  of  this  memorable  council — the  nineteenth  oecu- 
menical council  of  the  Catholic  Church — they  were  received  in  the 
Netherlands  with  general  reprobation.  Even  the  new  bishops 
loudly  denounced  them  as  unjust  innovations,  and  thus  Philip 
found  zealous  opponents  in  those  on  whom  he  had  reckoned  as 
his  most  useful  tools.  The  governant  was  not  the  less  urged  to 
implicit  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  king  by  Viglius  and  De 
Barlaimont,  who  took  upon  themselves  an  almost  menacing  tone. 
The  duchess  assembled  a  council  of  state,  and  asked  its  advice 
as  to  her  proceedings.  The  Prince  of  Orange  at  once  boldly 
proposed  disobedience  to  measures  which  he  believed  to  be 
fraught  with  danger  to  the  monarchy  and  ruin  to  the  nation.  The 
council  could  not  resist  his  appeal  to  their  best  feelings.  His  pro- 
posal that  fresh  remonstrances  should  be  addressed  to  the  king  met 
with  almost  general  support.  The  president,  Viglius,  who  had 
spoken  in  the  opening  of  the  council  in  favor  of  the  king's  orders, 
was  overwhelmed  by  William's  reasoning,  and  demanded  time  to 
prepare  his  reply.  His  agitation  during  the  debate,  and  his  despair 
of  carrying  the  measures  against  the  patriot  party,  brought  on  in 
the  night  an  attack  of  apoplexy. 

It  was  resolved  to  dispatch  a  special  envoy  to  Spain  to  explain 
to  Philip  the  views  of  the  council,  and  to  lay  before  him  a  plan 
proposed  by  the  Prince  of  Orange  for  forming  a  junction  between 
the  two  councils  and  that  of  finance,  and  forming  them  into  one 
body.  The  object  of  this  measure  was  at  once  to  give  greater 
union  and  power  to  the  provisional  government,  to  create  a  central 
administration  in  the  Netherlands,  and  to  remove  from  some  ob- 
scure and  avaricious  financiers  the  exclusive  management  of  the 
national  resources.  The  Count  of  Egmont,  chosen  by  the  council 
for  this  important  mission,  set  out  for  Madrid  in  the  month  of 
February,  1565.  Philip  received  him  with  profound  hypocrisy, 
loaded  him  with  the  most  flattering  promises,  sent  him  back  in  the 


PHILIP     II     OF     SPAIN 


83 


1555-1566 

Utmost  elation,  and  when  the  credulous  count  returned  to  Brussels 
he  found  that  the  written  orders,  of  which  he  was  the  bearer,  were 
in  direct  variance  with  every  word  which  the  king  had  uttered. 

These  orders  were  chiefly  concerning  the  reiterated  subject  of 
the  persecution  to  be  inflexibly  pursued  against  the  religious  re- 
formers. Not  satisfied  with  the  hitherto  established  forms  of  pun- 
ishment, Philip  now  expressly  commanded  that  the  more  revolting 


r 


means  decreed  by  his  father  in  the  rigor  of  his  early  zeal,  such  as 
burning,  living  burial,  and  the  like,  should  be  adopted ;  and  he  some- 
what more  obscurely  directed  that  the  victims  should  be  no  longer 
publicly  immolated,  but  secretly  destroyed.  He  endeavored  by  this 
vague  phraseology  to  avoid  the  actual  utterance  of  the  word  in- 
quisition ;  ^  but  he  thus  virtually  established  that  tribunal,  with  attri- 
butes still  more  terrific  than  even  in  Spain,  for  there  the  condemned 
had  at  least  the  consolation  of  dying  in  open  day  and  of  displaying 

'  The  Spanish  Inquisition,  which  must  not  be  confused  with  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Inquisition,  was  first  appointed  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  This,  although 
it  cannot  be  considered  as  a  mere  State  institution,  was  yet  dependent  on  the 
temporal  rulers.  How  little  the  apostolic  chair  approved  of  it,  is  seen  from  a 
letter  written  by  Sixtus  IV.  on  August  2,  1483.  It  should  also  be  remembered 
that  in  both  Inquisitions  the  trial  only  was  conducted  by  the  priestly  order,  the 
sentence  and  its  execution  belonging  to  secular  jurisdiction. 


84  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

the  fortitude  which  is  rarely  proof  against  the  horrors  of  a  private 
execution. 

Phihp's  design  of  establishing  this  terrible  tribunal  had  been 
long  suspected  by  the  people  of  the  Netherlands.  The  expression 
of  those  fears  had  reached  him  more  than  once.  He  as  often  re- 
plied by  assurances  that  he  had  formed  no  such  project,  and  par- 
ticularly to  the  Count  of  Egmont  during  his  visit  to  Madrid. 
But  at  that  very  time  he  assembled  a  conclave  of  enthusiasts, 
doctors  of  theology,  of  whom  he  formally  demanded  an  opinion  as 
to  whether  he  could  conscientiously  tolerate  two  sorts  of  religion 
in  the  Netherlands.  The  doctors,  willing  to  please,  him,  replied 
that  "  he  might,  for  the  avoidance  of  a  greater  evil."  Philip 
trembled  with  rage,  and  exclaimed,  with  a  threatening  tone,  "  I 
ask  not  if  I  can,  but  if  I  ought."  The  theologians  read  in  this 
his  willingness  to  receive  a  negative  reply,  and  it  was  amply  con- 
formable to  his  wish.  He  immediately  threw  himself  on  his  knees 
before  a  crucifix,  and  raising  his  hands  toward  heaven,  put  up  a 
prayer  for  strength  in  his  resolution  to  pursue  as  deadly  enemies 
all  who  viewed  that  effigy  with  feelings  different  from  his  own. 

Even  Viglius  was  terrified  by  the  nature  of  Philip's  commands, 
and  the  patriot  lords  once  more  withdrew  from  all  share  in  the 
government,  leaving  to  the  Duchess  of  Parma  and  her  ministers 
the  whole  responsibility  of  the  new  measures.  They  were  at  length 
put  into  actual  and  vigorous  execution  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1566.  The  inquisitors  of  the  faith,  with  their  familiars,  stalked 
abroad  boldly  in  the  devoted  provinces,  carrying  persecution  and 
death  in  their  train.  Numerous  but  only  partial  insurrections  op- 
posed their  advance.  Every  district  and  town  became  the  scene 
of  frightful  executions  or  tumultuous  resistance.  The  converts 
to  the  new  doctrines  multiplied,  as  usual,  under  the  effects  of  perse- 
cution. "  There  was  nowhere  to  be  seen,"  says  a  contemporary 
author,  "  the  meanest  mechanic  who  did  not  find  a  weapon  to 
strike  down  the  murderers  of  his  compatriots."  Holland,  Zealand, 
and  Utrecht  alone  escaped  from  those  fast  accumulating  horrors, 
William  of  Nassau  was  there. 


Chapter  VIII 

COMMENCEMENT   OF   THE    REVOLUTION.     1566 

THE  governant  and  her  ministers  now  began  to  tremble. 
Philip's  favorite  counselors  advised  him  to  yield  to  the 
popular  despair,  but  nothing  could  change  his  determina- 
tion to  pursue  his  bloody  game  to  the  last  chance.  He  had  fore- 
seen the  impossibility  of  reducing  the  country  to  slavery  as  long 
as  it  maintained  its  tranquillity  and  that  union  which  forms  in 
itself  the  elements  and  the  cement  of  strength.  It  was  from  deep 
calculation  that  he  had  excited  the  troubles,  and  now  kept  them 
alive.  He  knew  that  the  structure  of  illegal  power  could  only 
be  raised  on  the  ruins  of  public  rights  and  national  happiness,  and 
the  materials  of  desolation  found  sympathy  in  his  congenial  mind. 
And  now  in  reality  began  the  awful  revolution  of  the  Nether- 
lands against  their  lord.  In  a  few  years  this  so  lately  flourishing 
and  happy  nation  presented  a  frightful  picture;  and  in  the  midst 
of  European  peace,  prosperity,  and  civilization,  the  enthusiasm  of 
one  prince  drew  down  on  the  country  he  ruled  more  suffering 
than  it  had  endured  for  centuries  from  the  worst  effects  of  its 
foreign  foes. 

Up  to  the  present  moment  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  the 
Counts  Egmont  and  Horn,  with  their  partisans  and  friends,  had 
sincerely  desired  the  public  peace,  and  acted  in  the  common  inter- 
est of  the  king  and  the  people.  But  all  the  nobles  had  not  acted 
with  the  same  constitutional  moderation.  Many  of  those,  dis- 
appointed on  personal  accounts,  others  professing  the  new  doc- 
trines, and  the  rest  variously  affected  by  manifold  motives,  formed 
a  body  of  violent  and  sometimes  of  imprudent  malcontents.  The 
marriage  of  Alexander,  Prince  of  Parma,  son  of  the  governant, 
which  was  at  this  time  celebrated  at  Brussels,  brought  together 
an  immense  number  of  these  dissatisfied  nobles,  who  became  thus 
drawn  into  closer  connection,  and  whose  national  candor  was  more 
than  usually  brought  out  in  the  confidential  intercourse  of  society. 
Politics  and  patriotism  were  the  common  subjects  of  conversation 

85 


86  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1566 

in  the  various  convivial  meetings  that  took  place.  Two  German 
nobles,  Counts  Holle  and  Schwarzemberg,  at  that  period  in  the 
Netherlands,  loudly  proclaimed  the  favorable  disposition  of  the 
princes  of  the  empire  toward  the  Belgians.  It  was  supposed  even 
thus  early  that  negotiations  had  been  opened  with  several  of  those 
sovereigns.  In  short,  nothing  seemed  wanting  but  a  leader,  to 
give  consistency  and  weight  to  the  confederacy  which  was  as  yet 
but  in  embryo.  This  was  doubly  furnished  in  the  persons  of  Louis 
of  Nassau  and  Henry  de  Brederode.  The  former,  brother  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  was  possessed  of  many  of  those  brilliant  qualities 
which  mark  men  as  worthy  of  distinction  in  times  of  peril.  Edu- 
cated at  Geneva,  he  was  passionately  attached  to  the  Reformed  re- 
ligion and  identified  in  his  hatred  the  Catholic  Church  and  the 
tyranny  of  Spain.  Brave  and  impetuous,  he  was,  to  his  elder 
brother,  but  as  an  adventurous  partisan  compared  with  a  sagacious 
general.  He  loved  William  as  well  as  he  did  their  common  cause, 
and  his  life  was  devoted  to  both. 

Henry  de  Brederode,  Lord  of  Vianen  and  Marquis  of  Utrecht, 
was  descended  from  the  ancient  counts  of  Holland.  This  illus- 
trious origin,  which  in  his  own  eyes  formed  a  high  claim  to  distinc- 
tion, had  not  procured  him  any  of  those  employments  or  dignities 
which  he  considered  his  due.  He  was  presumptuous  and  rash, 
and  rather  a  fluent  speaker  than  an  eloquent  orator.  Louis  of 
Nassau  was  thoroughly  inspired  by  the  justice  of  the  cause  he 
espoused,  De  Brederode  espoused  it  for  the  glory  of  becoming  its 
champion.  The  first  only  wished  for  action,  the  latter  longed  for 
distinction.  But  neither  the  enthusiasm  of  Nassau  nor  the  vanity 
of  De  Brederode  was  allied  with  those  superior  attributes  required 
to  form  a  hero. 

The  confederation  acquired  its  perfect  organization  in  the 
month  of  February,  1566,  on  the  loth  of  which  month  its  cele- 
brated manifesto  was  signed  by  its  numerous  adherents.  The  first 
name  affixed  to  this  document  was  that  of  Philip  de  Marnix,  Lord 
of  St.  Aldegonde,  from  whose  pen  it  emanated — a  man  of  great 
talents  both  as  soldier  and  writer.  Numbers  of  the  nobility  fol- 
lowed him  on  this  muster-roll  of  patriotism,  and  many  of  the  most 
zealous  royalists  were  among  them.  This  remarkable  proclamation 
of  general  feeling  consisted  chiefly  in  a  powerful  reprehension  of 
the  illegal  establishment  of  the  Inquisition  in  the  Low  Countries, 
and  a  solemn  obligation  on  the  members  of  the  confederacy  to 


THE     REVOLUTION  87 

1566 

unite  in  the  common  cause  against  this  detested  nuisance.  Men  of 
all  ranks  and  classes  offered  their  signatures,  and  several  Catholic 
priests  among  the  rest.  The  Prince  of  Orange  and  the  Counts 
Egmont,  Horn,  and  Meghem  declined  becoming  actual  parties  to 
this  bold  measure,  and  when  the  question  was  debated  as  to  the 
most  appropriate  way  of  presenting  an  address  to  the  governant, 
these  noblemen  advised  the  mildest  and  most  respectful  demeanor 
on  the  part  of  the  purposed  deputation. 

At  the  first  intelligence  of  these  proceedings  the  Duchess  of 
Parma,  absorbed  by  terror,  had  no  recourse  but  to  assemble  hastily 
such  members  of  the  council  of  state  as  were  at  Brussels,  and  she 
entreated,  by  the  most  pressing  letters,  the  Prince  of  Orange  and 
Count  Horn  to  resume  their  places  at  this  council.  But  three 
courses  of  conduct  seemed  applicable  to  the  emergency — to  take 
up  arms,  to  grant  the  demands  of  the  confederates,  or  to  temporize 
and  to  amuse  them  with  a  feint  of  moderation,  until  the  orders 
of  the  king  might  be  obtained  from  Spain.  It  was  not,  however, 
till  after  a  lapse  of  four  months  that  the  council  finally  met  to  de- 
liberate on  these  important  questions,  and  during  this  long  interval 
at  such  a  crisis  the  confederates  gained  constant  accessions  to  their 
numbers,  and  completely  consolidated  their  plans.  The  opinions 
in  the  council  were  greatly  divided  as  to  the  mode  of  treatment 
toward  those  whom  one  party  considered  as  patriots  acting  in  their 
constitutional  rights,  and  the  other  as  rebels  in  open  revolt  against 
the  king.  The  Prince  of  Orange  and  De  Barlaimont  were  the 
principal  leaders  and  chief  speakers  at  either  side.  But  the  reason- 
ings of  the  former,  backed  by  the  urgency  of  events,  carried  the 
majority  of  the  suffrages,  and  a  promised  redress  of  grievances 
was  agreed  on  beforehand,  as  the  anticipated  answer  to  the  com- 
ing demands. 

Even  while  the  council  of  state  held  its  sittings,  the  report 
was  spread  through  Brussels  that  the  confederates  were  approach- 
ing. And  at  length  they  did  enter  the  city,  to  the  amount  of  some 
hundreds  of  the  representatives  of  the  first  families  in  the  country. 
On  the  following  day,  April  5,  1566,  they  walked  in  solemn  proces- 
sion to  the  palace.  Their  demeanor  was  highly  imposing,  from 
their  mingled  air  of  forbearance  and  determination.  All  Brussels 
thronged  out,  to  gaze  and  sympathize  with  this  extraordinary 
spectacle  of  men  whose  resolute  step  showed  they  were  no  common 
suppliants,  but  whose  modest  bearing  had  none  of  the  seditious  air 


88  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1566 

of  faction.  The  governant  received  the  distinguished  petitioners 
with  courtesy,  listened  to  their  detail  of  grievances,  and  returned  a 
moderate,  conciliatory,  but  evasive  answer. 

The  confederation,  which  owed  its  birth  to,  and  was  cradled 
in  social  enjoyments,  was  consolidated  in  the  midst  of  a  feast. 
The  day  following  this  first  deputation  to  the  governant  De  Brede- 
rode  gave  a  grand  repast  to  his  associates  in  the  Hotel  de  Cuilem- 
burg.  Three  hundred  guests  were  present  Inflamed  by  joy  and 
hope,  their  spirits  rose  high  under  the  influence  of  wine,  and  tem- 
perance gave  way  to  temerity.  In  the  midst  of  their  carousing 
some  of  the  members  remarked  that  when  the  governant  received 
the  written  petition,  Count  Barlaimont  observ^ed  to  her  that  "  she 
had  nothing  to  fear  from  such  a  band  of  beggars  "  (tas  de  Gueux). 
The  fact  was  that  many  of  the  confederates  were,  from  individual 
extravagance  and  mismanagement,  reduced  to  such  a  state  of  pov- 
erty as  to  justify  in  some  sort  the  sarcasm.  The  chiefs  of  the 
company  being  at  that  very  moment  debating  on  the  name  which 
they  should  choose  for  this  patriotic  league,  the  title  of  Gueux 
was  instantly  proposed,  and  adopted  with  acclamation.  The  re- 
proach it  was  originally  intended  to  convey  became  neutralized,  as 
its  general  application  to  men  of  all  ranks  and  fortunes  concealed 
its  effect  as  a  stigma  on  many  to  whom  it  might  be  seriously  ap- 
plied. Neither  were  examples  wanting  of  the  most  absurd  and 
apparently  dishonoring  nicknames  being  elsewhere  adopted  by  pow- 
erful political  parties.  "  Long  live  the  Gueux ! "  was  the  toast 
given  and  tumultuously  drunk  by  this  mad-brained  company;  and 
Brederode,  setting  no  bounds  to  the  boisterous  excitement  which 
followed,  procured  immediately,  and  slung  across  his  shoulders, 
a  wallet  such  as  was  worn  by  pilgrims  and  beggars,  drank  to  the 
health  of  all  present  in  a  wooden  cup  or  porringer,  and  loudly 
swore  that  he  was  ready  to  sacrifice  his  fortune  and  life  for  the 
common  cause.  Each  man  passed  round  the  bowl,  which  he  first 
put  to  his  lips,  repeated  the  oath,  and  thus  pledged  himself  to  the 
compact.  The  wallet  next  went  the  rounds  of  the  whole  assembly, 
and  was  finally  hung  upon  a  nail  driven  into  the  wall  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  gazed  on  with  such  emotions  as  the  emblems  of  polit- 
ical or  religious  faith,  however  worthless  or  absurd,  never  fail  to 
inspire  in  the  minds  of  enthusiasts. 

The  tumult  caused  by  this  ceremony,  so  ridiculous  in  itself 
but  so  sublime  in  its  results,  attracted  to  the  spot  the  Prince  ot 


THE     REVOLUTION  89 

1566 

Orange  and  Counts  Egmont  and  Horn,  whose  presence  is  uni- 
versally attributed  by  the  historians  to  accident,  but  which  was 
probably  more  than  mere  chance.  They  entered,  and  Brederode, 
who  did  the  honors  of  the  mansion,  forced  them  to  be  seated, 
and  to  join  in  the  festivity.^  The  appearance  of  three  such 
distinguished  personages  heightened  the  general  excitement,  and 
the  most  important  assemblage  that  had  for  genturies  met  together 
in  the  Netherlands  mingled  the  discussion  of  affairs  of  state  with 
all  the  burlesque  extravagance  of  a  debauch.  But  this  frantic  scene 
did  not  finish  the  affair.  What  they  resolved  on  while  drunk  they 
prepared  to  perform  when  sober.  Rallying  signs  and  watchwords 
were  adopted  and  soon  displayed.  It  was  thought  that  nothing 
better  suited  the  occasion  than  the  immediate  adoption  of  the 
costume  as  well  as  the  title  of  beggary.  In  a  very  few  days  the 
city  streets  were  filled  with  men  in  gray  cloaks,  fashioned  on  the 
model  of  those  used  by  mendicants  and  pilgrims.  Each  confeder- 
ate caused  this  uniform  to  be  worn  by  every  member  of  his  family, 
and  replaced  with  it  the  livery  of  his  servants.  Several  fastened 
to  their  girdles  or  their  sword-hilts  small  wooden  drinking-cups, 
clasp-knives,  and  other  symbols  of  the  begging  fraternity,  while 
all  soon  wore  on  their  breasts  a  medal  of  gold  or  silver,  represent- 
ing on  one  side  the  effigy  of  Philip,  with  the  words,  "  Faith- 
ful to  the  king";  and  on  the  reverse,  two  hands  clasped,  with 
the  motto,  "  Jiisqii'a  la  hesace"  (Even  to  the  wallet).  From  this 
origin  arose  the  application  of  the  word  Gueiix  in  its  political 
sense  as  common  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Netherlands  who 
embraced  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  and  took  up  arms  against 
their  tyrant.  Having  presented  two  subsequent  remonstrances  to 
the  governant,  and  obtained  some  consoling  promises  of  modera- 
tion, the  chief  confederates  quitted  Brussels,  leaving  several  di- 
rectors to  sustain  their  cause  in  the  capital,  while  they  themselves 
spread  into  the  various  provinces,  exciting  the  people  to  join  the 
legal  and  constitutional  resistance  with  which  they  were  resolved 
to  oppose  the  march  of  bigotry  and  despotism. 

^  The  following  is  Egmont's  account  of  their  conduct.  "  We  drank  a 
single  glass  of  wine  each,  to  shouts  of  '  Long  live  the  king !  long  live  the 
Gueux ! '  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  heard  the  confederacy  so  named,  and 
I  avow  that  it  displeased  me ;  but  the  times  were  so  critical  that  people  were 
obliged  to  tolerate  many  things  contrary  to  their  inclinations,  and  I  believed 
myself  on  this  occasion  to  act  with  perfect  innocence." — Proems  criminal  du 
Comte  d'Egmont. 


m  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

A  new  form  of  edict  was  now  decided  on  by  the  governant 
and  her  council,  and  after  various  insidious  and  illegal  but  success- 
ful tricks,  the  consent  of  several  of  the  provinces  was  obtained  to 
the  adoption  of  measures  that,  under  a  guise  of  comparative  mod- 
eration, were  little  less  abominable  than  those  commanded  by  the 
king.  These  were  formally  signed  by  the  council  and  dispatched 
to  Spain  to  receive  Philip's  sanction,  and  thus  acquire  the  force  of 
law.  The  embassy  to  Madrid  was  confided  to  the  Marquis  of 
Bergen  and  the  Baron  de  Montigny,  the  latter  of  whom  was  brother 
to  Count  Horn,  and  had  formerly  been  employed  on  a  like  mission. 
Montigny  appears  to  have  had  some  qualms  of  apprehension  in 
undertaking  this  new  office.  His  good  genius  seemed  for  a  while 
to  stand  between  him  and  the  fate  which  awaited  him.  An  acci- 
dent which  happened  to  his  colleague  allowed  an  excuse  for  re- 
tarding his  journey.  But  the  governant  urging  him  away,  he  set 
out,  and  reached  his  destination,  not  to  defend  the  cause  of  his 
country  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  but  to  perish  a  victim  to  his 
patriotism. 

The  situation  of  the  patriot  lords  was  at  this  crisis  peculiarly 
embarrassing.  The  conduct  of  the  confederates  was  so  essentially 
tantamount  to  open  rebellion  that  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  his 
friends  found  it  almost  impossible  to  preserve  a  neutrality  between 
the  court  and  the  people.  All  their  wishes  urged  them  to  join 
at  once  in  the  public  cause,  but  they  were  restrained  by  a  lingering 
sense  of  loyalty  to  the  king,  whose  employments  they  still  held, 
and  whose  confidence  they  were,  therefore,  nominally  supposed 
to  share.  They  seemed  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  coming  to  an 
explanation,  and,  perhaps,  a  premature  rupture  with  the  govern- 
ment, of  joining  in  the  harsh  measures  it  was  likely  to  adopt  against 
those  with  whose  proceedings  they  sympathized,  or,  as  a  last  alter- 
native, to  withdraw,  as  they  had  done  before,  wholly  from  all 
interference  in  public  affairs.  Still  their  presence  in  the  council 
of  state  was,  even  though  their  influence  had  greatly  decreased,  of 
vast  service  to  the  patriots,  in  checking  the  hostility  of  the  court; 
and  the  confederates,  on  the  other  hand,  were  restrained  from 
acts  of  oi>en  violence  by  fear  of  the  disapprobation  of  these  their 
best  and  most  powerful  friends.  Be  their  individual  motives  or 
reasoning  what  they  might,  they  at  length  adopted  the  alternative 
above  alluded  to,  and  resigned  their  places.  Count  Horn  retired 
to  his  estates.  Count  Egmont  repaired  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  under 


THE     REVOLUTION  91 

1555-1568 

the  pretext  of  being  ordered  thither  by  his  physicians,  and  the  Prince 
of  Orange  remained  for  a  while  at  Brussels. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  confederation  gained  ground  every  day. 
Its  measures  had  totally  changed  the  face  of  affairs  in  all  parts  of 
the  nation.  The  general  discontent  now  acquired  stability,  and  con- 
sequent importance.  The  chief  merchants  of  many  of  the  towns 
enrolled  themselves  in  the  patriot  band.  Many  active  and  ardent 
minds,  hitherto  withheld  by  the  doubtful  construction  of  the  asso- 
ciation, now  freely  entered  into  it  when  it  took  the  form  of  union 
and  respectability.  Energy,  if  not  excess,  seemed  legitimatized. 
The  vanity  of  the  leaders  was  flattered  by  the  consequence  they 
acquired,  and  weak  minds  gladly  embraced  an  occasion  of  mixing 
with  those  whose  importance  gave  both  protection  and  conceal- 
ment to  their  insignificance. 

An  occasion  so  favorable  for  the  rapid  promulgation  of  the 
new  doctrines  was  promptly  taken  advantage  of  by  the  French 
Huguenots  and  their  Protestant  brethren  of  Germany.  The  dis- 
ciples of  Reform  poured  from  all  quarters  into  the  Low  Countries, 
and  made  prodigious  progress,  with  all  the  energy  of  proselytes, 
and  too  often  with  the  fury  of  fanatics.  The  three  principal  sects 
into  which  the  reformers  were  divided  were  those  of  the  Anabap- 
tists, the  Calvinists,  and  the  Lutherans.  The  first  and  least  nu- 
merous were  chiefly  established  in  Friesland.  The  second  were 
spread  over  the  eastern  provinces.  Their  doctrines  being  already 
admitted  into  some  kingdoms  of  the  north,  they  were  protected 
by  the  most  powerful  princes  of  the  empire.  The  third,  and  by  far 
the  most  numerous  and  wealthy,  abounded  in  the  southern  prov- 
inces, and  particularly  in  Flanders.  They  were  supported  by  the 
zealous  efforts  of  French,  Swiss,  and  German  ministers,  and  their 
dogmas  were  nearly  the  same  with  those  of  the  established  religion 
of  England.  The  city  of  Antwerp  was  the  central  point  of  union 
for  the  three  sects,  but  the  only  principle  they  held  in  common 
was  their  hatred  against  Catholicism,  the  Inquisition,  and  Spain. 

The  government  had  now  issued  orders  to  the  chief  magis- 
trates to  proceed  with  moderation  against  the  heretics,  orders 
which  were  obeyed  in  their  most  ample  latitude  by  those  to  whose 
sympathies  they  were  so  congenial.  Until  then  the  Protestants 
were  satisfied  to  meet  by  stealth  at  night,  but  under  this  negative 
protection  of  the  authorities  they  now  boldly  assembled  in  public. 
Field  preachings  commenced  in  Flanders,  and  the  minister  who 


92  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

first  set  this  example  was  Herman  Stryker,  a  converted  monk,  a 
native  of  Overyssel,  a  jxjwerful  speaker,  and  a  bold  enthusiast. 
He  soon  drew  together  an  audience  of  seven  thousand  persons.  A 
furious  magistrate  rushed  among  this  crowd  and  hoped  to  disperse 
them  sword  in  hand,  but  he  was  soon  struck  down,  severely 
wounded,  with  a  shower  of  stones.  Irritated  and  emboldened  by 
this  rash  attempt,  the  Protestants  assembled  in  still  greater  num- 
bers near  Alost,  but  on  this  occasion  they  appeared  with  poniards, 
guns,  and  halberds.  They  intrenched  themselves  under  the  pro- 
tection of  wagons  and  all  sorts  of  obstacles  to  a  sudden  attack, 
placed  outposts  and  videttes,  and  thus  took  the  field  in  the  doubly 
dangerous  aspect  of  fanaticism  and  war.  Similar  assemblies  soon 
spread  over  the  whole  of  Flanders,  inflamed  by  the  exhortations 
of  Stryker  and  another  preacher,  called  Peter  Dathen,  of  Pope- 
ringue.  It  was  calculated  that  fifteen  thousand  men  attended  at 
some  of  these  preachings,  while  a  third  apostle  of  Calvinism,  Am- 
brose Ville,  a  Frenchman,  successfully  excited  the  inhabitants  of 
Toumai,  Valenciennes  and  Antwerp  to  form  a  common  league 
for  the  promulgation  of  their  faith.  The  sudden  appearance  of 
De  Brederode  at  the  latter  place  decided  their  plan,  and  gave  the 
courage  to  fix  on  a  day  for  its  execution.  An  immense  assemblage 
simultaneously  quitted  the  three  cities  at  a  preconcerted  time,  and 
when  they  united  their  forces  at  the  appointed  rendezvous  the 
preachings,  exhortations,  and  psalm-singing  commenced,  under  the 
auspices  of  several  Huguenots  and  German  ministers,  and  continued 
for  several  days  in  all  the  zealous  extravagance  which  may  be  well 
imagined  to  characterize  such  a  scene. 

The  citizens  of  Antwerp  were  terrified  for  the  safety  of  the 
place,  and  courier  after  courier  was  dispatched  to  the  governant 
at  Brussels  to  implore  her  presence.  The  duchess,  not  daring  to 
take  such  a  step  without  the  authority  of  the  king,  sent  Count 
Meghem  as  her  representative,  with  proposals  to  the  magistrates 
to  call  out  the  garrison.  The  populace  soon  understood  the  object 
of  this  messenger,  and  assailing  him  with  a  violent  outcry,  forced 
him  to  fly  from  the  city.  Then  the  Calvinists  petitioned  the  magis- 
trates for  permission  to  openly  exercise  their  religion,  and  for 
the  grant  of  a  temple  in  which  to  celebrate  its  rites.  The  magis- 
trates in  this  conjuncture  renewed  their  application  to  the  gov- 
ernant and  entreated  her  to  send  the  Prince  of  Orange,  as  the 
only  person  capable  of  saving  the  city  from  destruction.     The 


THE     REVOLUTION  W 

1555-1566 

duchess  was  forced  to  adopt  this  bitter  alternative,  and  the  prince, 
after  repeated  refusals  to  mix  again  in  public  affairs,  yielded  at 
length,  less  to  the  supplications  of  the  governant  than  to  his  own 
wishes  to  do  another  service  to  the  cause  of  his  country.  At  half 
a  league  from  the  city  he  was  met  by  De  Brederode,  with  an  im- 
mense concourse  of  people  of  all  sects  and  opinions,  who  hailed 
him  as  a  protector  from  the  tyranny  of  the  king  and  a  savior  from 
the  dangers  of  their  own  excess.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  wis- 
dom, the  firmness,  and  the  benevolence  with  which  he  managed  all 
conflicting  interests,  and  preserved  tranquillity  amid  a  chaos  of 
opposing  prejudices  and  passions. 

From  the  first  establishment  of  the  field  preachings  the  gov- 
ernant had  implored  the  confederate  lords  to  aid  her  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  order.  De  Brederode  seized  this  excuse  for  con- 
voking a  general  meeting  of  the  associates,  which  consequently  took 
place  at  the  town  of  St.  Trond,  in  the  district  of  Liege.  Full  two 
thousand  of  the  members  appeared  on  the  summons.  The  lan- 
guage held  in  this  assembly  was  much  stronger  and  less  equivocal 
than  that  formerly  used.  The  delay  in  the  arrival  of  the  king's 
answer  presaged  ill  as  to  his  intentions,  while  the  rapid  growth  of 
the  public  power  seemed  to  mark  the  present  as  the  time  for  suc- 
cessfully demanding  all  that  the  people  required.  Several  of  the 
Catholic  members,  still  royalists  at  heart,  were  shocked  to  hear 
a  total  liberty  of  conscience  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  privileges  sought 
for.  The  young  Count  of  Mansfield,  among  others,  withdrew 
immediately  from  the  confederation,  and  thus  the  first  stone  seemed 
to  be  removed  from  this  imperfectly  constructed  edifice. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  and  Count  Egmont  were  applied  to,  and 
appointed  by  the  governant,  with  full  powers  to  treat  with  the  con- 
federates. Twelve  of  the  latter,  among  whom  were  Louis  of 
Nassau,  De  Brederode,  and  De  Kuilenburg,  met  them  by  appoint- 
ment at  Duffle,  a  village  not  far  from  Mechlin.  The  result  of  the 
conference  was  a  respectful  but  firm  address  to  the  governant, 
repelling  her  accusations  of  having  entered  into  foreign  treaties, 
declaring  their  readiness  to  march  against  the  French  troops,  should 
they  set  foot  in  the  country,  and  claiming,  with  the  utmost  force 
of  reasoning,  the  convocation  of  the  states-general.  This  was 
replied  to  by  an  entreaty  that  they  would  still  wait  patiently  for 
twenty-four  days,  in  hopes  of  an  answer  frona  the  king,  and  she 
sent  the  Marquis  of  Bergen  in  all  speed  tp  Madrid,  to  support 


94  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

Montigny  in  his  efforts  to  obtain  some  prompt  decision  from  Philip. 
The  king,  who  was  then  at  Segovia,  assembled  his  council,  consist- 
ing of  the  Duke  of  Alva  and  eight  other  grandees.  The  two  depu- 
ties from  the  Netherlands  attended  at  the  deliberations,  which  were 
held  for  several  successive  days;  but  the  king  was  never  present. 
The  whole  state  of  affairs  being  debated  with  what  appears  a  calm 
and  dispassionate  view,  considering  the  firm  convictions  of  this 
council,  it  was  decided  to  advise  the  king  to  adopt  generally  a  more 
moderate  line  of  conduct  in  the  Netherlands,  and  to  abolish  the 
Inquisition,  at  the  same  time  prohibiting  under  the  most  awful 
threats  all  confederation,  assemblage,  or  public  preaching  under 
any  pretext  whatever. 

The  king's  first  care  on  receiving  this  advice  was  to  order, 
in  all  the  principal  towns  of  Spain  and  the  Netherlands,  prayer  and 
procession  to  implore  the  divine  approbation  on  the  resolutions 
which  he  had  formed.  He  appeared  then  in  person  at  the  council 
of  state,  and  issued  a  decree  by  which  he  refused  his  consent  to 
the  convocation  of  the  states-general,  and  bound  himself  to  take 
several  German  regiments  into  his  pay.  He  ordered  the  Duchess 
of  Parma,  by  private  letter,  to  immediately  cause  to  be  raised  3000 
cavalry  and  10,000  foot,  and  he  remitted  to  her  for  this  purpose 
300,000  florins  in  gold.  He  next  wrote  with  his  own  hand  to  sev- 
eral of  his  partisans  in  the  various  towns,  encouraging  them  in 
their  fidelity  to  his  purposes,  and  promising  them  his  support.  He 
rejected  the  adoption  of  the  moderation  recommended  to  him,  but 
he  consented  to  the  abolition  of  the  Inquisition  in  its  most  odious 
sense,  reestablishing  the  Episcopal  Inquisition  which  had  been  in- 
troduced into  the  Netherlands  by  Charles  V.  The  people  of  that 
devoted  country  were  thus  successful  in  obtaining  one  important 
concession  from  the  king  and  in  meeting  unexpected  consideration 
from  this  Spanish  council.  Whether  these  measures  had  been  cal- 
culated with  a  view  to  their  failure,  it  is  not  now  easy  to  determine ; 
at  all  events  they  came  too  late.  When  Philip's  letters  reached 
Brussels  the  Iconoclasts  or  image-breakers  were  abroad. 

It  requires  no  profound  research  to  comprehend  the  impulse 
which  leads  a  horde  of  fanatics  to  the  most  monstrous  excesses. 
That  fhe  deeds  of  the  Iconoclasts  arose  from  the  spontaneous  out- 
burst of  mere  vulgar  fury  admits  of  no  doubt.  The  aspersion 
which  would  trace  those  deeds  to  the  meeting  of  St.  Trond,  and 
fix  the  infamy  on  the  body  of  nobility  there  assembled,  is  scarcely 


THE     REVOLUTION  95 

1566-1566 

worthy  of  refutation.  The  very  lowest  of  the  people  were  the 
actors  as  well  as  the  authors  of  the  outrages,  which  were  at  once 
shocking  to  every  friend  of  liberty,  and  injurious  to  that  sacred 
cause.  Artois  and  western  Flanders  were  the  scenes  of  the  first 
exploits  of  the  Iconoclasts.  A  band  of  peasants,  intermixed  with 
beggars  and  various  other  vagabonds,  to  the  amount  of  about  three 
hundred,  urged  by  fanaticism  and  those  baser  passions  which  ani- 
mate every  lawless  body  of  men,  armed  with  hatchets,  clubs,  and 
hammers,  forced  open  the  doors  of  some  of  the  village  churches 
in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Omer,  and  tore  down  and  destroyed 
not  only  the  images  and  relics  of  saints,  but  those  very  ornaments 
which  Christians  of  all  sects  hold  sacred  and  essential  to  the  most 
simple  rites  of  religion. 

The  cities  of  Ypres,  Lille,  and  other  places  of  importance  were 
soon  subject  to  similar  visitations,  and  the  whole  of  Flanders  was 
in  a  few  days  ravaged  by  furious  multitudes,  whose  frantic  energy 
spread  terror  and  destruction  on  their  route.  Antwerp  was  pro- 
tected for  a  while  by  the  presence  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  but  an 
order  from  the  governant  having  obliged  him  to  repair  to  Brussels, 
a  few  nights  after  his  departure  the  celebrated  cathedral  shared  the 
fate  of  many  a  minor  temple,  and  was  utterly  pillaged.  The  blind 
fury  of  the  spoilers  was  not  confined  to  the  mere  efiigies  which 
they  considered  the  types  of  idolatry,  nor  even  to  the  pictures,  the 
vases,  the  sixty-six  altars,  and  their  richly  wrought  accessories; 
but  it  was  equally  fatal  to  the  splendid  organ,  which  was  considered 
the  finest  at  that  time  in  existence.  The  rapidity  and  the  order  with 
which  this  torchlight  scene  was  acted,  without  a  single  accident 
among  the  numerous  doers,  has  excited  the  wonder  of  almost  all 
its  early  historians.  One  of  them  does  not  hesitate  to  ascribe  the 
"  miracle  "  to  the  absolute  agency  of  demons.^  For  three  days 
and  nights  these  revolting  scenes  were  acted,  and  every  church  in 
the  city  shared  the  fate  of  the  cathedral,  which,  next  to  St.  Peter's 
at  Rome,  was  the  most  magnificent  in  Christendom. 

Ghent,  Toumai,  Valenciennes,  Mechlin,  and  other  cities  were 
next  the  theaters  of  similar  excesses,  and  in  an  incredibly  short 
space  of  time  above  four  hundred  churches  were  pillaged  in  Flan- 
ders and  Brabant.  Zealand,  Utrecht,  and  others  of  the  northern 
provinces  suffered  more  or  less;  Friesland,  Guelders,  and  Holland 
alone  escaped,  and  even  the  latter  but  in  partial  instances. 

.These  terrible  scenes  extinguished  every  hope  of  reconciliation 
2  Strada,  the  Catholic  historian  of  the  revolt. 


96  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1555-1566 

with  the  king.  An  inveterate  and  interminable  hatred  was  now 
established  between  him  and  the  people,  for  the  whole  nation  was 
identified  with  deeds  which  were  in  reality  only  shared  by  the  most 
base,  and  were  loathsome  to  all  who  were  enlightened.  It  was  in 
vain  that  the  patriot  nobles  might  hope  or  strive  to  exculpate  them- 
selves; they  were  sure  to  be  held  criminal  either  in  fact  or  by  im- 
plication. No  show  of  loyalty,  no  efforts  to  restore  order,  no  per- 
sonal sacrifice,  could  save  them  from  the  hatred  or  screen  them 
from  the  vengeance  of  Philip. 

The  affright  of  the  governant  during  the  short  reign  of  an- 
archy and  terror  was  without  bounds.  She  strove  to  make  her 
escape  from  Brussels,  and  was  restrained  from  so  doing  only  by 
the  joint  solicitations  of  Viglius  and  the  various  knights  of  the 
Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  consisting  of  the  first  among  the  nobles 
of  all  parties.  But,  in  fact,  a  species  of  violence  was  used  to  restrain 
her  from  this  most  fatal  step,  for  Viglius  gave  orders  that  the 
gates  of  the  city  should  be  shut  and  egress  refused  to  anyone  be- 
longing to  the  court.  The  somewhat  less  terrified  duchess  now 
named  Count  Mansfield  governor  of  the  town,  reinforced  the  gar- 
rison, ordered  arms  to  be  distributed  to  all  her  adherents,  and 
then  called  a  council  to  deliberate  on  the  measures  to  be  adopted. 
A  compromise  with  the  confederates  and  the  reformers  was  unani- 
mously agreed  to.  The  Prince  of  Orange  and  Counts  Egmont  and 
Horn  were  once  more  appointed  to  this  arduous  arbitration  between 
the  court  and  the  people.  Necessity  now  extorted  almost  every 
concession  which  had  been  so  long  denied  to  reason  and  prudence. 
The  confederates  were  declared  absolved  from  all  responsibility 
relative  to  their  proceedings.  The  suppression  of  the  Inquisition, 
the  abolition  of  the  edicts  against  heresy,  and  permission  for  the 
preachings  were  simultaneously  granted. 

The  confederates,  on  their  side,  undertook  to  remain  faithful 
to  the  service  of  the  king,  to  do  their  best  for  the  establishment  of 
order,  and  to  punish  the  Iconoclasts.  A  regular  treaty  to  this  effect 
was  drawn  up  and  executed  by  the  respective  plenipotentiaries,  and 
formally  approved  by  the  governant,  who  afiixed  her  sign-manual 
to  the  instrument.  She  only  consented  to  this  measure  after  a  long 
struggle,  and  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  it  was  with  a  trembling 
hand  that  she  wrote  an  account  of  these  transactions  to  the  king. 

Soon  after  this  the  several  governors  repaired  to  their  re- 
spective provinces,  and  their  efforts  for  the  reestablishment  of  tran- 


THE     REVOLUTION  97 

1555-1566 

quillity  were  attended  with  various  degrees  of  success.  Several 
of  the  ringleaders  in  the  late  excesses  were  executed,  and  this  se- 
verity was  not  confined  to  the  partisans  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
The  Prince  of  Orange  and  Count  Egmont,  with  others  of  the 
patriot  lords,  set  the  example  of  this  just  severity.  John  Casam- 
brot,  Lord  of  Beckerzeel,  Egmont's  secretary,  and  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  confederation,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  some  others 
of  the  associated  gentlemen,  fell  upon  a  refractory  band  of  Icono- 
clasts near  Grammont,  in  Flanders,  and  took  thirty  prisoners,  of 
whom  he  ordered  twenty-eight  to  be  hanged  on  the  spot. 


Chapter  IX 

SURRENDER   OF   VALENCIENNES   AND   TYRANNY 
OF   ALVA.    1566-1573 

J^LL  the  services  just  related  in  the  common  cause  of  the 
L\  country  and  the  king  produced  no  effect  on  the  vindictive 
jL  JIl.  spirit  of  the  latter.  Neither  the  lapse  of  time,  the  proofs 
of  repentance,  nor  the  fulfillment  of  their  duty  could  efface  the 
hatred  excited  by  a  conscientious  opposition  to  even  one  design  of 
despotism, 

Philip  was  ill  at  Segovia  when  he  received  accounts  of  the 
excesses  of  the  image-breakers  and  of  the  convention  concluded 
with  the  heretics.  Dispatches  from  the  governant,  with  private 
advices  from  Viglius,  Egmont,  Mansfield,  Meghem,  De  Barlaimont, 
and  others,  gave  him  ample  information  as  to  the  real  state  of 
things,  and  they  thus  strove  to  palliate  their  having  acceded  to  the 
convention.  The  emperor  even  wrote  to  his  royal  nephew,  im- 
ploring him  to  treat  his  wayward  subjects  with  moderation,  and 
offered  his  mediation  between  them.  Philip,  though  severely  suf- 
fering, gave  great  attention  to  the  details  of  this  correspondence, 
which  he  minutely  examined,  and  laid  before  his  council  of  state, 
with  notes  and  observations  taken  by  himself. 

Again  the  Spanish  council  appears  to  have  interfered  between 
the  people  of  the  Netherlands  and  the  enmity  of  the  monarch,  and 
the  offered  mediation  of  the  emperor  was  recommended  to  his  accep- 
tance, to  avoid  the  appearance  of  a  forced  concession  to  the  popular 
will.  Philip  was  also  strongly  urged  to  repair  to  the  scene  of  the 
disturbances,  and  a  main  question  of  debate  was  whether  he  should 
march  at  the  head  of  an  army  or  confide  himself  to  the  loyalty 
and  good  faith  of  his  Belgian  subjects.  But  the  pride  of  Philip 
was  too  strong  to  admit  of  his  taking  so  vigorous  a  measure,  and 
all  these  consultations  ended  in  two  letters  to  the  governant.  In 
the  first  he  declared  his  firm  intention  to  visit  the  Netherlands  in 
person,  refused  to  convoke  the  states-general,  passed  in  silence  the 
treaties  concluded  with  the  Protestants  and  the  confederates,  and 

98 


TYRANNY    OF    ALVA  99 

1566 

finished  by  a  declaration  that  he  would  throw  himself  wholly  on 
the  fidelity  of  the  country.  In  his  second  letter,  meant  for  the 
governant  alone,  he  authorized  her  to  assemble  the  states-general 
if  public  opinion  became  too  powerful  for  resistance,  but  on  no 
account  to  let  it  transpire  that  he  had  under  any  circumstances 
given  his  consent. 

During  these  deliberations  in  Spain  the  Reformers  in  the 
Netherlands  amply  availed  themselves  of  the  privileges  they  had 
gained.  They  erected  numerous  wooden  churches  with  incredible 
activity.  Young  and  old,  noble  and  plebeian,  of  these  energetic 
men,  assisted  in  the  manual  labors  of  these  occupations,  and  the 
women  freely  applied  the  produce  of  their  ornaments  and  jewels 
to  forward  the  pious  work.  But  the  furious  outrages  of  the  Icono- 
clasts had  done  infinite  mischief  to  both  political  and  religious 
freedom.  Many  of  the  Catholics,  and  particularly  the  priests,  grad- 
ually withdrew  themselves  from  the  confederacy,  which  thus  lost 
some  of  its  most  firm  supporters.  And  on  the  other  hand,  the  se- 
verity with  which  some  of  its  members  pursued  the  guilty  offended 
and  alarmed  the  body  of  the  people,  who  could  not  distinguish  the 
shades  of  difference  between  the  love  of  liberty  and  the  excess  of 
license. 

The  governant  and  her  satellites  adroitly  took  advantage  of 
this  state  of  things  to  sow  dissension  among  the  patriots.  Auto- 
graph letters  from  Philip  to  the  principal  lords  were  distributed 
among  them  with  such  artful  and  mysterious  precautions  as  to 
throw  the  rest  into  perplexity  and  give  each  suspicions  of  the  other's 
fidelity.  The  report  of  the  immediate  arrival  of  Philip  had  also 
considerable  effect  over  the  less  resolute  or  more  selfish,  and  the 
confederation  was  dissolved  rapidly  under  the  operations  of  in- 
trigue, self-interest,  and  fear.  Even  the  Count  Egmont  was  not 
proof  against  the  subtle  seductions  of  the  wily  monarch,  whose 
severe  yet  flattering  letters  half-frightened  and  half-soothed  him 
into  a  relapse  of  royalism.  But  with  the  Prince  of  Orange  Philip 
had  no  chance  of  success.  It  is  unquestionable  that  he  succeeded 
through  a  spy  in  his  pay  at  the  Spanish  court  in  procuring  minute 
intelligence  of  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  king's  most  secret  coun- 
cil. He  had  from  time  to  time  procured  copies  of  the  governant's 
dispatches,  but  the  document  which  threw  the  most  important  light 
upon  the  real  intentions  of  Philip  was  a  confidential  epistle  to  the 
governant  from  D'Alava,  the  Spanish  minister  at  Paris,  in  which 


100  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1566 

he  spoke  in  terms  too  clear  to  admit  any  doubt  as  to  the  terrible 
example  which  the  king  was  resolved  to  make  among  the  patriot 
lords.  Bergen  and  Montigny  confirmed  this  by  the  accounts  they 
sent  home  from  Madrid  of  the  alteration  in  the  manner  with  which 
they  were  treated  by  Philip  and  his  courtiers,  and  the  Prince  of 
Orange  was  more  firmly  decided  in  his  opinions  of  the  coming 
vengeance  of  the  tyrant. 

William  summoned  his  brother  Louis,  the  Counts  Egmont, 
Horn,  and  Hoogstraeten,  to  a  secret  conference  at  Dendermonde, 
and  he  there  submitted  to  them  this  letter  of  Alava's,  with  others 
which  he  had  received  from  Spain,  confirmatory  of  his  worst  fears. 
Louis  of  Nassau  voted  for  open  and  instant  rebellion.  William  rec- 
ommended a  cautious  observance  of  the  projects  of  government, 
not  doubting  that  a  fair  pretext  would  soon  be  given  to  justify  the 
most  vigorous  overt-acts  of  revolt;  but  Egmont  at  once  struck  a 
death-blow  to  the  energetic  project  of  one  brother  and  the  cautious 
amendment  of  the  other,  by  declaring  his  present  resolution  to  de- 
vote himself  wholly  to  the  service  of  the  king,  and  on  no  inducement 
whatever  to  risk  the  perils  of  rebellion.  He  expressed  his  perfect 
reliance  on  the  justice  and  the  goodness  of  Philip,  when  once  he 
should  see  the  determined  loyalty  of  those  whom  he  had  hitherto 
had  so  much  reason  to  suspect,  and  he  exhorted  the  others  to  fol- 
low his  example.  The  two  brothers  and  Count  Horn  implored 
him  in  their  turn  to  abandon  this  blind  reliance  on  the  tyrant,  but 
in  vain.  His  new  and  unlooked-for  profession  of  faith  completely 
paralyzed  their  plans.  He  possessed  too  largely  the  confidence  of 
both  the  soldiery  and  the  people  to  make  it  possible  to  attempt  any 
serious  measure  of  resistance  in  which  he  would  not  take  a  part. 
The  meeting  broke  up  without  coming  to  any  decision.  All  those 
who  bore  a  part  in  it  were  expected  at  Brussels  to  attend  the  coun- 
cil of  state;  Egmont  alone  repaired  thither.  The  governant  ques- 
tioned him  on  the  object  of  the  conference  at  Dendermonde.  He 
only  replied  by  an  indignant  glance,  at  the  same  time  presenting  a 
copy  of  Alava's  letter. 

The  governant  now  applied  her  whole  efforts  to  destroy  the 
union  among  the  patriot  lords.  She  in  the  meantime  ordered  levies 
of  troops  to  ihe  amount  of  some  thousands,  the  command  of  which 
was  given  to  the  nobles  on  whose  attachment  she  could  reckon. 
The  most  vigorous  measures  were  adopted.  Noircarmes,  governor 
of  Hainault,  appeared  before  Valenciennes,  which  being  in  the 


TYRANNY    OF    ALVA  101 

1566 

power  of  the  Calvinists,  had  assumed  a  most  determined  attitude 
of  resistance.  He  vainly  summoned  the  place  to  submission  and 
to  admit  a  royalist  garrison,  and  on  receiving  an  obstinate  refusal 
he  commenced  the  siege  in  form.  An  undisciplined  rabble  of  be- 
tween 3000  and  4000  Gueux,  under  the  direction  of  John  de  Soreas, 
gathered  together  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lille  and  Tournai,  with 
a  show  of  attacking  these  places.  But  the  governor  of  the  former 
town  dispersed  one  party  of  them,  and  Noircarmes  surprised  and 
almost  destroyed  the  main  body — their  leader  falling  in  the  action. 
These  were  the  first  encounters  of  the  civil  war  which  raged  with- 
out cessation  for  upwards  of  forty  years  in  these  devoted  countries, 
and  which  is  universally  allowed  to  be  the  most  remarkable  that 
ever  desolated  any  isolated  portion  of  Europe.  The  space  which 
we  have  already  given  to  the  causes  which  produced  this  memor- 
able revolution,  now  actually  commenced,  will  not  allow  us  to  do 
more  than  rapidly  sketch  the  fierce  events  that  succeeded  each  other 
with  frightful  rapidity. 

While  Valenciennes  prepared  for  a  vigorous  resistance,  a  gen- 
eral synod  of  the  Reformers  was  held  at  Antwerp,  and  De  Brede- 
rode  undertook  an  attempt  to  see  the  governant  and  lay  before  her 
the  complaints  of  this  body,  but  she  refused  to  admit  him  into  the 
capital.  He  then  addressed  to  her  a  remonstrance  in  writing,  in 
which  he  reproached  her  with  her  violation  of  the  treaties,  on  the 
faith  of  which  the  confederates  had  dispersed  and  the  majority  of 
the  Protestants  laid  down  their  arms.  He  implored  her  to  revoke 
the  new  proclamations,  by  which  she  prohibited  them  from  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion,  and  above  all  things  he  insisted  on  the 
abandonment  of  the  siege  of  Valenciennes,  and  the  disbanding  of 
the  new  levies.  The  govemant's  reply  was  one  of  haughty  reproach 
and  defiance.  The  gauntlet  was  now  thrown  down,  no  possible 
hope  of  reconciliation  remained,  and  the  whole  country  flew  to 
arms.  A  sudden  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  royalists,  under  Count 
Meghem,  against  Bois-le-duc,  was  repulsed  by  800  men,  com- 
manded by  an  officer  named  Bomberg,  in  the  immediate  service  of 
De  Brederode,  who  had  fortified  himself  in  his  garrison  town  of 
Vienen. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  maintained  at  Antwerp  an  attitude  of 
extreme  firmness  and  caution.  His  time  for  action  had  not  yet 
arrived,  but  his  advice  and  protection  were  of  infinite  importance 
on  many  occasions.    John  de  Mamix,  Lord  of  Toulouse,  brother 


102 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 


1566 


of  Philip  de  St.  Aldegonde,  took  possession  of  Osterweel  on  the 
Scheldt,  a  quarter  of  a  league  from  Antwerp,  and  fortified  him- 
self in  a  strong  position.  But  he  was  impetuously  attacked  by  the 
Count  de  Lannoy  with  a  considerable  force,  and  perished,  after 
a  desperate  defense,  with  full  looo  of  his  followers.  Three  hun- 
dred who  laid  down  their  arms  were  immediately  after  the  action 
butchered  in  cold  blood.  Antwerp  was  on  this  occasion  saved  from 
the  excesses  of  its  divided  and  furious  citizens,  and  preserved  from 
the  horrors  of  pillage,  by  the  calmness  and  intrepidity  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange.  Valenciennes  at  length  capitulated  to  the  royalists,  dis- 
heartened by  the  defeat  and  death  of  De  Marnix,  and  terrified  by 
a  bombardment  of  thirty-six  hours.  The  governor,  two  preachers, 
and  about  forty  of  the  citizens  were  hanged  by  the  victors,  and 
the  Reformed  religion  prohibited.  Noircarmes  promptly  followed 
up  his  success.  Maastricht,  Turnhout,  and  Bois-le-duc  submitted 
at  his  approach  and  the  insurgents  were  soon  driven  from  all  the 
provinces,  Holland  alone  excepted.  Brederode  fled  to  Germany, 
where  he  died  the  following  year. 

The  govenant  showed  in  her  success  no  small  proofs  of  de- 
cision. She  and  her  counselors,  acting  under  orders  from  the 
king,  were  resolved  on  embarrassing  to  the  utmost  the  patriot  lords, 
and  a  new  oath  of  allegiance,  to  be  proposed  to  every  functionary 
of  the  state,  was  considered  as  a  certain  means  for  attaining  this 
object  without  the  violence  of  an  unmerited  dismissal.  The  terms 
of  this  oath  were  strongly  opposed  to  every  principle  of  patriotism 
and  toleration.  Count  Mansfield  was  the  first  of  the  nobles  who 
took  it.  The  Duke  of  Arschot,  Counts  Meghem,  Barliamont,  and 
Egmont  followed  his  example.  The  Counts  of  Horn,  Hoogs- 
traeten,  De  Brederode,  and  others  refused  on  various  pretexts. 
Every  artifice  and  persuasion  was  tried  to  induce  the  Prince  of 
Orange  to  subscribe  to  this  new  test,  but  his  resolution  had  been 
for  some  time  formed.  He  saw  that  every  chance  of  constitutional 
resistance  to  tyranny  was  for  the  present  at  an  end.  The  time 
for  petitioning  was  gone  by.  The  confederation  was  dissolved.  A 
royalist  army  was  in  the  field;  the  Duke  of  Alva  was  notoriously 
approaching  at  the  head  of  another,  more  numerous.  It  was  worse 
than  useless  to  conclude  a  hollow  convention  with  the  govemant,  of 
mock  loyalty  on  his  part  and  mock  confidence  on  hers.  Many  other 
important  considerations  convinced  William  that  his  only  honorable, 
safe,  and  wise  course  was  to  exile  himself  from  the  Netherlands 


LAST   INTERVIEW   BETWEEN   WILLIAM    OF  ORANGE  AND  COUNT  EGMONT 

AT  THE  VILLAGE  OF   WILLEBROEK 

Paintiiz  hv  Max  Adamn 


TYRANNY    OF    ALVA  lOS 

1567 

altogether,  until  more  propitious  circumstances  allowed  of  his  act- 
ing openly,  boldly,  and  with  effect. 

Before  he  put  this  plan  of  voluntary  banishment  into  execu- 
tion, he  and  Egmont  had  a  parting  interview  at  the  village  of 
Willebroek,  between  Antwerp  and  Brussels.  Count  Mansfield  and 
Berti,  secretary  to  the  governant,  were  present  at  this  memorable 
meeting.  The  details  of  what  passed  were  reported  to  the  confed- 
erates by  one  of  their  party,  who  contrived  to  conceal  himself  in 
the  chimney  of  the  chamber.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  energetic 
warmth  with  which  the  two  illustrious  friends  reciprocally  endeav- 
ored to  turn  each  other  from  their  respective  line  of  conduct;  but 
in  vain.  Egmont's  fatal  confidence  in  the  king  was  not  to  be  shaken, 
nor  was  Nassau's  penetrating  mind  to  be  deceived  by  the  romantic 
delusion  which  led  away  his  friend.  They  separated  with  most 
affectionate  expressions,  and  Nassau  was  even  moved  to  tears. 
His  parting  words  were  to  the  following  effect :  "  Confide,  then, 
since  it  must  be  so,  in  the  gratitude  of  the  king ;  but  a  painful  pre- 
sentiment (God  grant  it  may  prove  a  false  one!)  tells  me  that  you 
will  serve  the  Spaniards  as  the  bridge  by  which  they  will  enter  the 
country,  and  which  they  will  destroy  as  soon  as  they  have  passed 
over  it ! " 

On  April  ii,  a  few  days  after  this  conference,  the  Prince  of 
Orange  set  out  for  Germany,  with  his  three  brothers  and  his  whole 
family,  with  the  exception  of  his  eldest  son,  Philip  William,  Count 
of  Beuren,  whom  he  left  behind  a  student  in  the  University  of 
Louvain.  He  believed  that  the  privileges  of  the  college  and  the 
franchises  of  Brabant  would  prove  a  sufficient  protection  to  the 
youth,  and  this  appears  the  only  instance  in  which  William's  vigi- 
lant prudence  was  deceived.  The  departure  of  the  prince  seemed 
to  remove  all  hope  of  protection  or  support  from  the  unfortunate 
Protestants,  now  left  the  prey  of  their  implacable  tyrant.  The  con- 
federation of  the  nobles  was  completely  broken  up.  The  counts 
of  Hoogstraeten,  Bergen,  and  Kuilenburg  followed  the  example 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  escaped  to  Germany,  and  the  greater 
number  of  those  who  remained  behind  took  the  new  oath  of  alle- 
giance and  became  reconciled  to  the  government. 

This  total  dispersion  of  the  confederacy  brought  all  the  towns 
of  Holland  into  obedience  to  the  king.  But  the  emigration  which 
immediately  commenced  threatened  the  country  with  ruin.  Eng- 
land and  Germany  swarmed  with  Dutch  and  Belgian  refugees,  and 


104j  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1567 

all  the  efforts  of  the  governant  could  not  restrain  the  thousands 
that  took  to  flight.  She  was  not  more  successful  in  her  attempts 
to  influence  the  measures  of  the  king.  She  implored  him,  in  repeated 
letters,  to  abandon  his  design  of  sending  a  foreign  army  into  the 
country,  which  she  represented  as  being  now  quite  reduced  to  sub- 
mission and  tranquillity.  She  added  that  the  mere  report  of  this 
royal  invasion  (so  to  call  it)  had  already  deprived  the  Netherlands 
of  many  thousands  of  its  best  inhabitants,  and  that  the  appearance 
of  the  troops  would  change  it  into  a  desert.  These  arguments, 
meant  to  dissuade,  were  the  very  means  of  encouraging  Philip  in 
his  design.  He  conceived  his  project  to  be  now  fully  ripe  for 
the  complete  suppression  of  freedom,  and  Alva  soon  began  his 
march. 

On  May  5,  1567,  this  celebrated  captain,  whose  reputation  was 
so  quickly  destined  to  sink  into  the  notoriety  of  an  executioner,  be- 
gan his  memorable  march ;  and  on  August  22  he,  with  his  two  nat- 
ural sons  and  his  veteran  army  consisting  of  about  15,000  men,  ar- 
rived at  the  walls  of  Brussels.  The  discipline  observed  on  this 
march  was  a  terrible  forewarning  to  the  people  of  the  Netherlands 
of  the  influence  of  the  general  and  the  obedience  of  the  troops. 
They  had  little  chance  of  resistance  against  such  soldiers  so 
commanded. 

Several  of  the  Belgian  nobility  went  forward  to  meet  Alva 
to  render  him  the  accustomed  honors  and  endeavor  thus  early  to 
gfain  his  good  graces.  Among  them  was  the  infatuated  Egmont, 
who  made  a  present  to  Alva  of  two  superb  horses,  which  the  latter 
received  with  a  disdainful  air  of  condescension.  Alva's  first  care 
was  the  distribution  of  his  troops — several  thousand  of  whom  were 
placed  in  Antwerp,  Ghent,  and  other  important  towns,  and  the 
remainder  reserved  under  his  own  immediate  orders  at  Brussels, 
i  His  approach  was  celebrated  by  universal  terror,  and  his  arrival 
was  thoroughly  humiliating  to  the  Duchess  of  Parma.  He  imme- 
diately produced  his  commission  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
royal  armies  in  the  Netherlands,  but  he  next  showed  her  another, 
which  confided  to  him  powers  infinitely  more  extended  than  any 
Marguerite  herself  had  enjoyed,  and  which  proved  to  her  that  an 
almost  sovereign  power  over  the  country  was  virtually  vested 
in  him. 

Alva  first  turned  his  attention  to  the  seizure  of  those  patriot 
lords  whose  pertinacious  infatuation  left  them  within  his  reach. 


TYRANNY     OF     ALVA  105 

1667 

He  summoned  a  meeting  of  all  the  members  of  the  council  of  state 
and  the  knights  of  the  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  to  deliberate 
on  matters  of  great  importance.  Counts  Egmont  and  Horn  at- 
tended, among  many  others;  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  council 
they  were  both  arrested,  as  was  also  Van  Straeten,  burgomaster  of 
Antwerp,  and  Casambrot,  Egmont's  secretary.  The  young  Count 
of  Mansfield  appeared  for  a  moment  at  this  meeting,  but,  warned 
by  his  father  of  the  fate  intended  him,  as  an  original  member  of  the 
confederation,  he  had  time  to  fly.  The  Count  of  Hoogstraeten  was 
happily  detained  by  illness,  and  thus  escaped  the  fate  of  his  friends. 
Egmont  and  Horn  were  transferred  to  the  citadel  of  Ghent,  under 
an  escort  of  3000  Spanish  soldiers.  Several  other  persons  of  the 
first  families  were  arrested,  and  those  who  had  originally  been  taken 
in  arms  were  executed  without  delay. 

The  next  measures  of  the  new  governor  were  the  reestablish- 
ment  of  the  Inquisition,  the  promulgation  of  the  decrees  of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  the  revocation  of  the  Duchess  of  Parma's  edicts, 
and  the  royal  refusal  to  recognize  the  terms  of  her  treaties  with  the 
Protestants.  He  immediately  established  a  special  tribunal,  com- 
posed of  twelve  members,  with  full  powers  to  inquire  into  and  pro- 
nounce judgment  on  every  circumstance  connected  with  the  late 
troubles.  He  named  himself  president  of  this  council,  and  ap- 
pointed a  Spaniard,  named  Vargas,  as  vice  president — a  wretch  of 
the  most  diabolical  cruelty.  Several  others  of  the  judges  were  also 
Spaniards,  in  direct  infraction  of  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
country.  This  council,  immortalized  by  its  infamy,  was  named  by 
the  new  governor  (for  so  Alva  was  in  fact,  though  not  yet  in 
name)  the  Council  of  Troubles.  By  the  people  it  was  soon  des- 
ignated the  Council  of  Blood.  In  its  atrocious  procedings  no  re- 
spect was  paid  to  titles,  contracts,  or  privileges,  however  sacred. 
Its  judgments  were  without  appeal.  Every  subject  of  the  state 
was  amenable  to  its  summons — clergy  and  laity,  the  first  indi- 
viduals of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  most  wretched  outcasts  of 
society.  Its  decrees  were  passed  with  outrageous  rapidity  and  con- 
tempt of  form.  Contumacy  was  punished  with  exile  and  confisca- 
tion. Those  who,  strong  in  innocence,  dared  to  brave  a  trial  were 
lost  without  resource.  The  accused  were  forced  to  its  bar  without 
previous  warning.  Many  a  wealthy  citizen  was  dragged  to  trial 
four  leagues'  distance,  tied  to  a  horse's  tail.  The  number  of  vic- 
tims was  appalling.     On  one  occasion  the  town  of  Valenciennes 


106  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1567 

alone  saw  fifty-five  of  its  citizens  fall  by  the  hands  of  the  execu- 
tioner. Hanging,  beheading,  quartering,  and  burning  were  the 
every-day  spectacles.  The  enormous  confiscations  only  added  to 
the  thirst  for  gold  and  blood  by  which  Alva  and  his  satellites  were 
parched.  History  offers  no  example  of  parallel  horrors,  for  while 
party  vengeance  on  other  occasions  has  led  to  scenes  of  fury  and 
terror,  they  arose  in  this  instance  from  the  vilest  cupidity  and  the 
most  cold-blooded  cruelty. 

After  three  months  of  such  atrocity  Alva,  fatigued  rather  than 
satiated  with  butchery,  resigned  his  hateful  functions  wholly  into 
the  hands  of  Vargas,  who  was  chiefly  aided  by  the  members  Delrio 
and  Dela  Torre.  One  of  these  wretches,  called  Hesselts,  used  at 
length  to  sleep  during  the  mock  trials  of  the  already  doomed  vic- 
tims, and  as  often  as  he  was  roused  up  by  his  colleagues  he  used 
to  cry  out  mechanically,  "  To  the  gibbet !  to  the  gibbet !  "  so  fa- 
miliar was  his  tongue  with  the  sounds  of  condemnation. 

The  despair  of  the  people  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that 
until  the  end  of  the  year  1567  their  only  consolation  was  the  pros- 
pect of  the  king's  arrival !  He  never  dreamed  of  coming.  The  good 
Duchess  of  Parma — for  so  she  was  in  comparison  with  her  suc- 
cessor— was  not  long  left  to  oppose  the  feeble  barrier  of  her 
prayers  between  Alva  and  his  victims.  She  demanded  her  dis- 
missal from  the  nominal  dignity,  which  was  now  but  a  title  of  dis- 
grace. Philip  granted  it  readily,  accompanied  by  a  hypocritical 
letter,  a  present  of  30,000  crowns,  and  the  promise  of  an  annual 
pension  of  20,000  more.  She  left  Brussels  in  the  month  of  April, 
1568,  raised  to  a  high  place  in  the  esteem  and  gratitude  of  the 
people,  less  by  any  actual  claims  from  her  own  conduct  than  by  its 
fortuitous  contrast  with  the  infamy  of  her  successor.  She  retired 
to  Italy,  and  died  at  Naples  in  the  month  of  February,  1 586. 

Ferdinand  Alvarez  de  Toledo,  Duke  of  Alva,  was  of  a  dis- 
tinguished family  in  Spain,  and  even  boasted  of  his  descent  from 
one  of  the  Moorish  monarchs  who  had  reigned  in  the  insignificant 
kingdom  of  Toledo.  When  he  assumed  the  chief  command  in  the 
Netherlands  he  was  sixty  years  of  age,  having  grown  old  and  ob- 
durate in  pride,  ferocity,  and  avarice.  His  deeds  must  stand  in- 
stead of  a  more  detailed  portrait,  which,  to  be  thoroughly  striking, 
should  be  traced  with  a  pen  dipped  in  blood.  He  was  a  fierce  and 
clever  soldier,  brought  up  in  the  school  of  Charles  V.,  and  trained 
to  his  profession  in  the  wars  of  that  monarch  in  Germany,  and  sub- 


TYRANNY     OF     ALVA  107 

18«8 

sequently  in  that  of  Philip  II.  against  France.  In  addition  to  the 
horrors  acted  by  the  Council  of  Blood,  Alva  committed  many  deeds 
of  collateral  but  minor  tyranny ;  among  others,  he  issued  a  decree 
forbidding,  under  severe  penalties,  any  inhabitant  of  the  country 
to  marry  without  his  express  permission.  His  furious  edicts  against 
emigration  were  attempted  to  be  enforced  in  vain.  Elizabeth  of 
England  opened  all  the  ports  of  her  kingdom  to  the  Flemish  refu- 
gees who  carried  with  them  those  abundant  stores  of  manufactur- 
ing knowledge  which  she  wisely  knew  to  be  the  elements  of  national 
wealth. 

Alva  soon  summoned  the  Prince  of  Orange,  his  brothers,  and 
all  the  confederate  lords  to  appear  before  the  council  and  answer 
to  the  charge  of  high  treason.  The  prince  gave  a  prompt  and 
contemptuous  answer,  denying  the  authority  of  Alva  and  his  coun- 
cil, and  acknowledging  for  his  judges  only  the  emperor,  whose 
vassal  he  was,  or  the  King  of  Spain  in  person,  as  president  of  the 
Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece.  The  other  lords  made  replies  nearly 
similar.  The  trials  of  each  were,  therefore,  proceeded  on,  by  con- 
tumacy, confiscation  of  property  being  an  object  almost  as  dear  to 
the  tyrant  viceroy  as  the  death  of  his  victims.  Judgments  were 
promptly  pronounced  against  those  present  or  absent,  alive  or  dead. 
Witness  the  case  of  the  unfortunate  Marquis  of  Bergen,  who  had 
previously  expired  at  Madrid,  and  his  equally  ill-fated  colleague 
in  the  embassy,  the  Baron  Montigny,  who,  for  a  while  imprisoned 
at  Segovia,  was  soon  after  secretly  beheaded,  on  the  base  pretext 
of  former  disaffection. 

The  departure  of  the  Duchess  of  Parma  having  left  Alva 
undisputed  as  well  as  unlimited  authority,  he  proceeded  rapidly  in 
his  terrible  career.  The  Count  of  Beuren  was  seized  at  Louvain 
and  sent  prisoner  to  Madrid,  and  wherever  it  was  possible  to  lay 
hands  on  a  suspected  patriot  the  occasion  was  not  neglected.  It 
would  be  a  revolting  task  to  enter  into  a  minute  detail  of  all  the 
horrors  committed  and  impossible  to  record  the  names  of  the  vic- 
tims who  so  quickly  fell  before  Alva's  insatiate  cruelty.  The  people 
were  driven  to  frenzy.  Bands  of  wretches  fled  to  the  woods  and 
marshes,  whence,  half  famished  and  perishing  for  want,  they  re- 
venged themselves  with  pillage  and  murder.  Pirates  infested  and 
ravaged  the  coast,  and  thus,  from  both  sea  and  land,  the  whole 
extent  of  the  Netherlands  was  devoted  to  carnage  and  ruin.  The 
chronicles  of  Brabant  and  Holland,  chiefly  written  in  Flemish  by 


108  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1568 

contemporary  authors,  abound  in  thrilling  details  of  the  horrors 
of  this  general  desolation,  with  long  lists  of  those  who  perished. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  on  the  recorded  boast  of  Alva  himself  he 
caused  18,000  inhabitants  of  the  Low  Countries  to  perish  by  the 
hands  of  the  executioner  during  his  less  than  six  years'  sovereignty 
in  the  Netherlands. 

The  most  important  of  these  tragical  scenes  was  now  soon  to 
be  acted.  The  Counts  Egmont  and  Horn,  having  submitted  to 
some  previous  interrogatories  by  Vargas  and  others,  were  removed 
from  Ghent  to  Brussels  on  June  3  under  a  strong  escort.  The 
following  day  they  passed  through  the  mockery  of  a  trial  before 
the  Council  of  Blood ;  and  on  the  5th  they  were  both  beheaded  in 
the  great  square  of  Brussels  in  the  presence  of  Alva,  who  gloated 
on  the  spectacle  from  a  balcony  that  commanded  the  execution.  The 
same  day  Van  Straelen  and  Casambrot  shared  the  fate  of  their 
illustrious  friends,  in  the  castle  of  Vilvorde,  with  many  others 
whose  names  only  find  a  place  in  the  local  chronicles  of  the  times. 
Egmont  and  Horn  met  their  fate  with  the  firmness  expected  from 
their  well-proved  courage. 

These  judicial  murders  excited  in  the  Netherlands  an  agitation 
without  bounds.  It  was  no  longer  hatred  or  aversion  that  filled 
men's  minds,  but  fury  and  despair.  The  outbreaking  of  a  general 
revolt  was  hourly  watched  for.  The  foreign  powers  without  ex- 
ception expressed  their  disapproval  of  these  executions.  The 
Emperor  Maximilian  IL  and  all  the  Catholic  princes  condemned 
them.  The  former  sent  his  brother  expressly  to  the  King  of 
Spain,  to  warn  him  that  without  a  cessation  of  his  cruelties  he 
could  not  restrain  a  general  declaration  from  the  members  of  the 
empire,  which  would,  in  all  likelihood,  deprive  him  of  every  acre  of 
land  in  the  Netherlands,  The  princes  of  the  Protestant  states  held 
no  limits  to  the  expression  of  their  disgust  and  resentment,  and 
everything  seemed  now  ripe,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  to  favor  the 
enterprise  on  which  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  determined  to  risk 
his  fortune  and  his  life.  But  his  principal  resources  were  to  be 
found  in  his  genius  and  courage  and  in  the  heroic  devotion  par- 
taken by  his  whole  family  in  the  cause  of  their  country.  His 
brother,  Count  John,  advanced  him  a  considerable  sum  of  money, 
the  Flemings  and  Hollanders  in  England  and  elsewhere  subscribed 
largely,  and  the  prince  himself,  after  raising  loans  in  every  possible 
way  on  his  private  means,  sold  his  jewels,  his  plate,  and  even  the 


TYRANNY     OF    ALVA  109 

1568 

furniture  of  his  houses,  and  threw  the  amount  into  the  common 
fund. 

Two  remarkable  events  took  place  this  year  in  Spain  and 
added  to  the  general  odium  entertained  against  Philip's  character 
throughout  Europe.  The  first  was  the  death  of  his  son,  Don 
Carlos,  who,  suspected  by  his  father  of  treason,  was  imprisoned 
and  either  committed  suicide  or  was  poisoned  by  Philip's  orders; 
the  other  was  the  death  of  the  queen.  Universal  opinion  assigned 
poison  as  the  cause,  and  Charles  IX.  of  France,  her  brother,  who 
loved  her  with  great  tenderness,  seems  to  have  joined  in  this  belief. 
Astonishment  and  horror  filled  all  minds  on  the  double  denouement 
of  this  romantic  tragedy,  and  the  enemies  of  the  tyrant  reaped  all 
the  advantages  it  was  so  well  adapted  to  produce. 

The  Prince  of  Orange,  having  raised  a  considerable  force  in 
Germany,  now  entered  on  the  war  with  all  the  well-directed  en- 
ergy by  which  he  was  characterized.  The  Queen  of  England,  the 
French  Huguenots,  and  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany  all  lent 
him  their  aid  in  money  or  in  men,  and  he  opened  his  first  cam- 
paign with  great  advantage.  He  formed  his  army  into  four  sev- 
eral corps,  intending  to  enter  the  country  on  as  many  different 
points,  and  by  a  sudden  irruption  on  that  most  vulnerable  to  rouse 
at  once  the  hopes  and  the  cooperation  of  the  people.  His  brothers 
Louis  and  Adolphus,  at  the  head  of  one  of  these  divisions,  pen- 
etrated into  Groningen,  and  there  commenced  the  contest.  The 
Count  of  Aremberg,  governor  of  this  province,  assisted  by  the 
Spanish  troops  under  Gonsalvo  de  Bracamonte,  quickly  opposed 
the  invaders.  They  met  on  May  24,  near  the  abbey  of  Heiligerlee, 
which  gave  its  name  to  the  battle,  and  after  a  short  contest  the 
royalists  were  defeated  with  great  loss.  The  Count  of  Aremberg 
and  Adolphus  of  Nassau  encountered  in  single  combat  and  fell  by 
each  other's  hands.  The  victory  was  dearly  purchased  by  the  loss 
of  this  gallant  prince,  the  first  of  his  illustrious  family  who  have  on 
so  many  occasions  freely  shed  their  blood  for  the  freedom  and 
happiness  of  the  country  so  emphatically  called  their  own. 

Alva  immediately  hastened  to  the  scene  of  this  first  action, 
and  soon  forced  Count  Louis  to  another  at  a  place  called  Jem- 
mingen,  near  the  town  of  Emden,  on  July  21.  Their  forces  were 
nearly  equal,  about  14,000  at  either  side,  but  all  the  advantage  of 
discipline  and  skill  was  in  favor  of  Alva,  and  the  consequence  was 
the  total  rout  of  the  patriots  with  a  considerable  loss  in  killed  and 


110  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1568-1569 

the  whole  of  the  cannon  and  baggage.  The  entire  province  of 
Friesland  was  thus  again  reduced  to  obedience,  and  Alva  hastened 
back  to  Brabant  to  make  head  against  the  Prince  of  Orange.  The 
latter  had  now  under  his  command  an  army  of  28,000  men — an 
imposing  force  in  point  of  numbers,  being  nearly  double  that  which 
his  rival  was  able  to  muster.  He  soon  made  himself  master  of 
the  towns  of  Tongres  and  St.  Trond,  and  the  whole  province  of 
Liege  was  in  his  power.  He  advanced  boldly  against  Alva,  and 
for  several  months  did  all  that  maneuvering  could  do  to  force  him 
to  a  battle.  But  the  wily  veteran  knew  his  trade  too  well ;  he  felt 
sure  that  in  time  the  prince's  force  would  disperse  for  want  of  pay 
and  supplies,  and  he  managed  his  resources  so  ably  that  with  little 
risk  and  scarcely  any  loss  he  finally  succeeded  in  his  object.  In 
the  month  of  October  the  prince  found  himself  forced  to  disband 
his  large  but  undisciplined  force,  and  he  retired  into  France  to 
recruit  his  funds  and  consider  on  the  best  measures  for  some  future 
enterprise. 

The  insolent  triumph  or  Alva  knew  no  bounds.  The  rest  of 
the  year  was  consumed  in  new  executions.  The  hotel  of  Kuilen- 
burg,  the  early  cradle  of  De  Brederode's  confederacy,  was  razed  to 
the  ground,  and  a  pillar  erected  on  the  spot  commemorative  of  the 
deed;  while  Alva,  resolved  to  erect  a  monument  of  his  success  as 
well  as  of  his  hate,  had  his  own  statue  in  brass,  formed  of  the  can- 
nons taken  at  Jemmingen,  set  up  in  the  citadel  of  Antwerp,  with 
various  symbols  of  power  and  an  inscription  of  inflated  pride. 

The  following  year  was  ushered  in  by  a  demand  of  unwonted 
and  extravagant  rapacity,  the  establishment  of  two  taxes  on  prop- 
erty, personal  and  real,  to  the  amount  of  the  hundredth  penny  (or 
denier)  on  each  kind,  and  at  every  transfer  or  sale  ten  per  cent, 
on  personal  and  five  per  cent,  for  real  property.  These  taxes  were 
based  on  a  similar  system  long  in  use  in  Spain.  They  were  not 
new  in  the  Netherlands,  but  had  never  before  been  really  enforced. 
The  states-general,  of  whom  this  demand  was  made,  were  unan- 
imous in  their  opposition,  as  well  as  the  ministers,  but  particularly 
De  Barlaimont  and  Viglius.  Alva  was  so  irritated  that  he  even 
menaced  the  venerable  president  of  the  council,  but  could  not  suc- 
ceed in  intimidating  him.  He  obstinately  persisted  in  his  design 
for  a  considerable  period,  resisting  arguments  and  prayers,  and 
even  the  more  likely  means  tried  for  softening  his  cupidity,  by 
furnishing  him  with  sums  from  other  sources  equivalent  to  those 


FERNANDO    ALVARZZ    l)K   TOLEDO.    Dl.  KE   OF    ALVA 

(Dorn  1508.     Died   158^) 

Painting  by   Antonio  Mora 

at    Brussels 


TYRANNY    OF    ALVA  111 

1569-1570 

which  the  new  taxes  were  calculated  to  produce.  To  his  repeated 
threats  against  Viglius  the  latter  replied  that  "  he  was  convinced 
the  king  would  not  condemn  him  unheard,  but  that  at  any  rate  his 
gray  hairs  saved  him  from  any  ignoble  fear  of  death." 

A  deputation  was  sent  from  the  states-general  to  Philip,  ex- 
plaining the  impossibility  of  persevering  in  the  attempted  taxes, 
which  were  incompatible  with  every  principle  of  commercial  lib- 
erty. But  Alva  would  not  abandon  his  design  till  he  had  forced 
every  province  into  resistance,  and  the  king  himself  commanded 
him  to  desist.  The  northern  provinces  had  hitherto  suffered  com- 
paratively little  from  Alva's  rule,  but  the  attempts  of  the  duke  to 
enforce  the  obnoxious  taxes,  so  ruinous  to  all  commercial  enter- 
prise, did  much  to  force  them  into  open  revolt.  The  events  of 
this  and  the  following  year  (1570)  may  be  shortly  summed  up, 
none  of  any  striking  interest  or  eventual  importance  having  oc- 
curred. The  sufferings  of  the  country  were  increasing  from  day 
to  day  under  the  intolerable  tyranny  which  bore  it  down.  The 
patriots  attempted  nothing  on  land,  but  their  naval  force  began 
from  this  time  to  acquire  that  consistency  and  power  which  was 
so  soon  to  render  it  the  chief  means  of  resistance  and  the  great 
source  of  wealth.  The  privateers  or  corsairs  which  began  to 
swarm  from  every  port  in  Holland  and  Zealand,  and  which  found 
refuge  in  all  those  of  England,  sullied  many  gallant  exploits  by 
instances  of  culpable  excess;  so  much  so  that  the  Prince  of  Or- 
ange was  forced  to  withdraw  the  command  which  he  had  delegated 
to  the  Lord  of  Dolhain,  and  to  replace  him  by  Gislain  de  Fiennes, 
for  already  several  of  the  exiled  nobles  and  ruined  merchants  of 
Antwerp  and  Amsterdam  had  joined  these  bold  adventurers,  and 
purchased  or  built,  with  the  remnant  of  their  fortunes,  many  ves- 
sels in  which  they  carried  on  a  most  productive  warfare  against 
Spanish  commerce  through  the  whole  extent  of  the  English  Chan- 
nel, from  the  mouth  of  the  Ems  to  the  harbor  of  La  Rochelle. 

One  of  those  frightful  inundations  to  which  the  northern 
provinces  were  so  constantly  exposed  occurred  this  year,  carrying 
away  the  dikes  and  destroying  lives  and  property  to  a  considerable 
amount.  In  Friesland  alone  20,000  men  were  victims  to  this 
calamity.  But  no  suffering  could  affect  the  inflexible  sternness  of 
the  Duke  of  Alva,  and  to  such  excess  did  he  carry  his  persecution 
that  Philip  himself  began  to  be  discontented  and  thought  his  repre- 
sentative was  overstepping  the  bounds  of  delegated  tyranny.     He 


lia  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1570-1572 

even  reproached  him  sharply  in  some  of  his  dispatches.  The  gov- 
ernor repHed  in  the  same  strain,  and  such  was  the  effect  of  this 
correspondence  that  PhiHp  resolved  to  remove  him  from  his  com- 
mand. But  the  king's  marriage  with  Anne  of  Austria,  daughter 
of  the  Emperor  Maximilian,  obliged  him  to  defer  his  intentions 
for  a  while,  and  he  at  length  named  John  de  la  Cerda,  Duke  of 
Medina-Celi,  for  Alva's  successor.  Upward  of  a  year,  however, 
elapsed  before  this  new  governor  was  finally  appointed,  and  he 
made  his  appearance  on  the  coast  of  Flanders  with  a  considerable 
fleet  on  July  ii,  1572.  He  was  afforded  on  this  very  day  a 
specimen  of  the  sort  of  people  he  came  to  contend  with,  for  his  fleet 
was  suddenly  attacked  by  that  of  the  patriots,  and  many  of  his 
vessels  burned  and  taken  before  his  eyes,  with  their  rich  cargoes 
and  considerable  treasures  which  were  intended  for  the  service  of 
the  state. 

The  Duke  of  Medina-Celi  proceeded  rapidly  to  Brussels, 
where  he  was  ceremoniously  received  by  Alva,  who,  however, 
refused  to  resign  the  government,  under  the  pretext  that  the  term 
of  his  appointment  had  not  expired,  and  that  he  was  resolved  first 
to  completely  suppress  all  symptoms  of  revolt  in  the  northern 
provinces.  He  succeeded  in  effectually  disgusting  La  Cerda,  who 
almost  immediately  demanded  and  obtained  his  own  recall  to 
Spain.  Alva,  left  once  more  in  undisputed  possession  of  his 
power,  turned  it  with  increased  vigor  into  new  channels  of  oppres- 
sion. He  was  soon  again  employed  in  efforts  to  effect  the  levying 
of  his  favorite  taxes,  and  such  was  the  resolution  of  the  trades- 
men of  Brussels,  that  sooner  than  submit  they  almost  universally 
closed  their  shops  altogether.  Alva,  furious  at  this  measure, 
caused  sixty  of  the  citizens  to  be  seized,  and  ordered  them  to  be 
hanged  opposite  their  own  doors.  The  gibbets  were  actually 
erected,  when,  on  the  very  morning  of  the  day  fixed  for  the  execu- 
tions, he  received  dispatches  that  wholly  disconcerted  him  and 
he  stopped  their  completion. 

To  avoid  an  open  rupture  with  Spain,  the  Queen  of  England 
had  just  at  this  time  interdicted  the  Dutch  and  Flemish  privateers 
from  taking  shelter  in  her  ports.  William  de  Lumey,  Count  de  la 
Marck,  had  now  the  chief  command  of  this  adventurous  force.  He 
was  distinguished  by  an  inveterate  hatred  against  the  Spaniards, 
and  had  made  a  wild  and  romantic  vow  never  to  cut  his  hair  or 
beard  till  he  had  avenged  the  murders  of  Egmont  and  Horn. 


TYRANNY    OF    ALVA  IIS 

1S72 

Driven  out  of  the  harbors  of  England,  he  resolved  on  some  desper- 
ate enterprise,  and  on  April  i  he  succeeded  in  surprising  the  little 
town  of  Briel,  in  the  island  of  Voorn,  situated  between  Zealand  and 
Holland.  This  insignificant  place  acquired  great  celebrity  from 
this  event,  which  may  be  considered  the  first  successful  step  toward 
the  establishment  of  liberty  and  the  republic. 

Alva  was  confounded  by  the  news  of  this  exploit,  but  with  his 
usual  activity  he  immediately  turned  his  whole  attention  toward  the 
point  of  greatest  danger.  His  embarrassment,  however,  became 
every  day  more  considerable.  Lumey's  success  was  the  signal  of  a 
general  revolt.  In  a  few  days  every  town  in  Holland  and  Zealand 
declared  for  liberty,  with  the  exception  of  Amsterdam  and  Middel- 
burg,  where  the  Spanish  garrisons  were  too  strong  for  the  people 
to  attempt  their  expulsion. 

The  Prince  of  Orange,  who  had  been  on  the  watch  for  a 
favorable  moment,  now  entered  Brabant  at  the  head  of  24,000 
men,  composed  of  French,  German,  and  English,  and  made  him- 
self master  of  several  important  places,  while  his  indefatigable 
brother  Louis,  with  a  minor  force,  suddenly  appeared  in  Hainault, 
and,  joined  by  a  large  body  of  French  Huguenots  under  De  Genlis, 
he  seized  on  Mons,  the  capital  of  the  province,  on  May  25. 

Alva  turned  first  toward  the  recovery  of  this  important  place, 
and  gave  the  command  of  the  siege  to  his  son,  Frederic  of  Toledo, 
who  was  assisted  by  the  counsels  of  Noircarmes  and  Vitelli;  but 
Louis  of  Nassau  held  out  for  upwards  of  three  months,  and  only 
surrendered  on  an  honorable  capitulation  in  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, his  French  allies  having  been  first  entirely  defeated,  and 
their  brave  leader,  De  Genlis,  taken  prisoner.  The  Prince  of 
Orange  had  in  the  meantime  secured  possession  of  Louvain,  Rure- 
monde,  Mechlin,  and  other  towns,  carried  Termonde  and  Oude- 
narde  by  assault,  and  made  demonstrations  which  seemed  to  court 
Alva  once  more  to  try  the  fortune  of  the  campaign  in  a  pitched 
battle.  But  such  were  not  William's  real  intentions,  nor  did  the 
cautious  tactics  of  his  able  opponent  allow  him  to  provoke  such  a 
risk.  He,  however,  ordered  his  son  Frederic  to  march  with  all  his 
force  into  Holland,  and  he  soon  undertook  the  siege  of  Haarlem. 
By  the  time  that  Mons  fell  again  into  the  power  of  the  Spaniards 
sixty-five  towns  and  their  territories,  chiefly  in  the  northern 
provinces,  had  thrown  off  the  yoke.  The  single  port  of  Flushing 
contained  one  hundred  and  fifty  vessels,  well  armed  and  equipped, 


114  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1572-1573 

and  from  that  epoch  may  be  dated  the  rapid  growth  of  the  first 
naval  power  in  Europe,  with  the  single  exception  of  Great  Britain. 

It  is  here  worthy  of  remark  that  all  the  horrors  of  which  the 
people  of  Flanders  were  the  victims,  and  in  their  full  proportion, 
had  not  the  effect  of  exciting  them  to  revolt,  but  they  rose  up  with 
fury  against  the  payment  of  the  new  taxes.  They  sacrificed 
everything  sooner  than  pay  these  unjust  exactions.  The  next  im- 
portant event  in  these  wars  was  the  siege  of  Haarlem,  before  which 
place  the  Spaniards  were  arrested  in  their  progress  for  seven 
months,  and  which  they  at  length  succeeded  in  taking  with  a  loss 
of  10,000  men. 

The  details  of  this  memorable  siege  are  calculated  to  arouse 
every  feeling  of  pity  for  the  heroic  defenders  and  of  execration 
against  the  cruel  assailants.  A  widow,  named  Catherine  van 
Hasselaar,  gained  a  niche  in  history  by  her  remarkable  valor  at  the 
head  of  a  battalion  of  300  of  her  townswomen,  who  bore  a  part 
in  all  the  labors  and  perils  of  the  siege.  After  the  surrender,  and 
in  pursuance  of  Alva's  common  system,  his  son  caused  the  gov- 
ernor and  the  other  chief  officers  to  be  beheaded,  and  upwards  of 
1200  of  the  worn-out  garrison  and  burghers  were  either  put  to  the 
sword  or  tied  two-and-two  and  drowned  in  the  lake  which  gives  its 
name  to  the  town.  Tergoes  in  South  Beveland,  Mechlin,  Naerden, 
and  other  towns  were  about  the  same  period  the  scenes  of  gallant 
actions,  and  of  subsequent  cruelties  of  the  most  revolting  nature  as 
soon  as  they  fell  into  the  power  of  the  Spaniards.  Horrors  like 
these  were  sure  to  force  reprisals  on  the  part  of  the  maddened  pa- 
triots. De  la  Marck  carried  on  his  daring  exploits  with  a  cruelty 
which  excited  the  indignation  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  by  whom 
he  was  removed  from  his  command.  The  contest  was  for  a  while 
prosecuted  with  a  decrease  of  vigor  proportioned  to  the  serious 
losses  on  both  sides.  Money  and  the  munitions  of  war  began  to 
fail,  and  though  the  Spaniards  succeeded  in  taking  The  Hague, 
they  were  repulsed  before  Alkmaar  with  great  loss,  and  their  fleet 
was  almost  entirely  destroyed  in  a  naval  combat  on  the  Zuyder  Zee. 
The  Count  Bossu,  their  admiral,  was  taken  in  this  fight,  with  about 
300  of  his  best  sailors. 

Holland  was  now  from  one  end  to  the  other  the  theater  of  the 
most  shocking  events.  While  the  people  performed  deeds  of  the 
greatest  heroism,  the  perfidy  and  cruelty  of  the  Spaniards  had  no 
bounds.      The  patriots  seeing  more  danger  in  submission  than  in 


TYRANNY    OF    ALVA  115 

1S7S 

resistance,  each  town  which  was  in  succession  subdued  endured  the 
last  extremities  of  suffering  before  it  yielded,  and  victory  was  fre- 
quently the  consequence  of  despair.  This  unlooked-for  turn  in 
affairs  decided  the  king  to  remove  Alva,  whose  barbarous  and 
rapacious  conduct  was  now  objected  to  even  by  Philip,  when  it 
produced  results  disastrous  to  his  cause.  Don  Luis  Zuniga  y 
Requesens,  commander  of  the  Order  of  Malta,  was  named  to  the 
government  of  the  Netherlands,  He  arrived  at  Brussels  on  No- 
vember 17,  1573,  and  on  the  i8th  of  the  following  month  Alva  set 
out  for  Spain,  loaded  with  the  booty  to  which  he  had  waded  through 
oceans  of  blood,  and  with  the  curses  of  the  country,  which,  how- 
ever, owed  its  subsequent  freedom  to  the  impulse  given  by  his 
intolerable  cruelty.  He  repaired  to  Spain,  and  after  various  fluc- 
tuations of  favor  and  disgrace  at  the  hands  of  his  master,  he  died 
in  his  bed,  at  Lisbon,  in  1582,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-four 
years.  His  last  act  had  been  the  conquest  of  Portugal,  one  of  the 
few  great  successes  achieved  by  Philip. 


Chapter    X 

APPOINTMENT  OF  REQUESENS  AND  PACIFICATION  OF 
GHENT.     1573-1576 

THE  character  of  Requesens  was  not  more  opposed  to  that 
of  his  predecessor  than  were  the  instructions  given  to  him 
for  his  government.  He  was  an  honest,  well-meaning, 
and  moderate  man,  and  the  King  of  Spain  hoped  that  by  his  in- 
fluence and  a  total  change  of  measures  he  might  succeed  in  recall- 
ing the  Netherlands  to  obedience.  But,  happily  for  the  country, 
this  change  was  adopted  too  late  for  success,  and  the  weakness  of 
the  new  government  completed  the  glorious  results  which  the 
ferocity  of  the  former  had  prepared. 

Requesens  performed  all  that  depended  on  him  to  gain  the 
confidence  of  the  people.  He  caused  Alva's  statue  to  be  removed, 
and  hoped  to  efface  the  memory  of  the  tyrant  by  dissolving  the 
Council  of  Blood,  and  abandoning  the  obnoxious  taxes  which  their 
inventor  had  suspended  rather  than  abolished.  A  general  amnesty 
was  also  promulgated  against  the  revolted  provinces,  but  they  re- 
ceived it  with  contempt  and  defiance.  Nothing  then  was  left  to 
Requesens  but  to  renew  the  war,  and  this  he  found  to  be  a  matter 
of  no  easy  execution.  The  finances  were  in  a  state  of  the  greatest 
confusion,  and  the  Spanish  troops  were  in  many  places  seditious, 
in  some  openly  mutinous,  Alva  having  left  large  arrears  of  pay 
due  to  almost  all,  notwithstanding  the  immense  amount  of  his  pil- 
lage and  extortion.  Middelburg,  which  had  long  sustained  a  siege 
against  all  the  efforts  of  the  patriots,  was  now  nearly  reduced  by 
famine,  notwithstanding  the  gallant  efforts  of  its  governor,  Mon- 
dragon.  Requesens  turned  his  immediate  attention  to  the  relief 
of  this  important  place,  and  he  soon  assembled,  at  Antwerp  and 
Bergen-op-Zoom,  a  fleet  of  forty  vessels  for  that  purpose.  But 
Louis  Boisot,  admiral  of  Zealand,  promptly  repaired  to  attack  this 
force,  and  after  a  severe  action  he  totally  defeated  it,  and  killed 
De  dimes,  one  of  its  admirals,  under  the  eyes  of  Requesens  him- 
self, who,  accompanied  by  his  suite,  stood  during  the  whole  affair 

116 


PACIFICATION     OF     GHENT  117 

1674 

on  the  dike  of  Schakerloo.  This  action  took  place  January  29, 
1574;  and,  on  February  19  following,  Middelburg  surrendered,  after 
a  resistance  of  two  years.  The  Prince  of  Orange  granted  such  con- 
ditions as  were  due  to  the  bravery  of  the  governor,  and  thus  set  an 
example  of  generosity  and  honor  which  greatly  changed  the  com- 
plexion of  the  war.  All  Zealand  was  now  free,  and  the  intrepid 
admiral,  Boisot,  gained  another  victory  on  May  30 — destroying 
several  of  the  Spanish  vessels,  and  taking  some  others,  with  their 
admiral,  Von  Haemstede.  Frequent  naval  enterprises  were  also 
undertaken  against  the  frontiers  of  Flanders,  and  while  the  naval 
forces  thus  harassed  the  enemy  on  every  vulnerable  point,  the 
unfortunate  provinces  of  the  interior  were  ravaged  by  the  mutinous 
and  revolted  Spaniards,  and  by  the  native  brigands,  who  pillaged 
both  royalists  and  patriots  with  atrocious  impartiality. 

To  these  manifold  evils  was  now  added  one  more  terrible,  in 
the  appearance  of  the  plague,  which  broke  out  at  Ghent  in  the 
month  of  October  and  devastated  a  great  part  of  the  Netherlands, 
not,  however,  with  that  violence  with  which  it  rages  in  more 
southern  climates. 

Requesens,  overwhelmed  by  difficulties,  yet  exerted  himself  to 
the  utmost  to  put  the  best  face  on  the  affairs  of  government.  His 
chief  care  was  to  appease  the  mutinous  soldiery,  and  he  even  caused 
his  plate  to  be  melted,  and  freely  gave  the  produce  toward  the  pay- 
ment of  their  arrears.  The  patriots,  well  informed  of  this  state  of 
things,  labored  to  turn  it  to  their  best  advantage.  They  opened 
the  campaign  in  the  province  of  Guelders,  where  Louis  of  Nassau, 
with  his  younger  brother,  Henry,  and  the  Prince  Palatine,  son  of 
the  Elector  Frederick  HI.,  appeared  at  the  head  of  11,000  men. 
The  Prince  of  Orange  prepared  to  join  him  with  an  equal  number, 
but  Requesens  promptly  dispatched  Sanchez  d'Avila  to  prevent  this 
junction.  The  Spanish  commander  quickly  passed  the  Meuse  near 
Nimeugen,  and  on  April  14  he  forced  Count  Louis  to  a  battle,  on 
the  great  plain  called  Mookerheyde,  close  to  the  village  of  Mook. 
The  royalists  attacked  with  their  usual  valor,  and  after  two  hours 
of  hard  fighting  the  confederates  were  totally  defeated.  The 
three  gallant  princes  were  among  the  slain,  and  their  bodies  were 
never  afterward  discovered.  It  has  been  stated,  on  doubtful  au- 
thority, that  Louis  of  Nassau,  after  having  lain  some  time  among 
the  heaps  of  dead,  dragged  himself  to  the  side  of  the  River  Meuse, 
and  while  washing  his  wounds  was  inhumanly  murdered  by  some 


118  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1574 

Straggling  peasants  to  whom  he  was  unknown.  The  unfortunate 
fate  of  this  enterprising  prince  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  patriot 
cause  and  a  cruel  affliction  to  the  Prince  of  Orange.  He  had 
now  already  lost  three  brothers  in  the  war,  and  remained  alone 
to  revenge  their  fate  and  sustain  the  cause  for  which  they  had 
perished. 

D'Avila  soon  found  his  victory  to  be  as  fruitless  as  it  was 
brilliant.  The  ruffian  troops  by  whom  it  was  gained  became  im- 
mediately self-disbanded,  threw  off  all  authority,  hastened  to 
possess  themselves  of  Antwerp,  and  threatened  to  proceed  to  the 
most  horrible  extremities  if  their  pay  was  longer  withheld.  The 
citizens  succeeded  with  difficulty  in  appeasing  them  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  some  money  in  part  payment  of  their  claims.  Requesens 
took  advantage  of  their  temporary  calm  and  dispatched  them 
promptly  to  take  part  in  the  siege  of  Leyden. 

This  siege  formed  another  of  those  numerous  instances  which 
became  so  memorable  from  the  mixture  of  heroism  and  horror. 
John  van  der  Duye,  known  in  literature  by  the  name  of  Dousa,  and 
celebrated  for  his  Latin  poems,  commanded  the  place.  Valdez, 
who  conducted  the  siege,  urged  Dousa  to  surrender,  when  the 
latter  replied,  in  the  name  of  the  inhabitants,  that  "  when  pro- 
visions failed  them  they  would  devour  their  left  hands,  reserving 
the  right  to  defend  their  liberty."  A  party  of  the  inhabitants, 
driven  to  disobedience  and  revolt  by  the  excess  of  misery  to  which 
they  were  shortly  reduced,  attempted  to  force  the  burgomaster, 
Vanderwerf,  to  supply  them  with  bread  or  yield  up  the  place.  But 
he  sternly  made  the  celebrated  answer,  which  cannot  be  remembered 
without  shuddering :  "  Bread  I  have  none ;  but  if  my  death  can 
afford  you  relief,  tear  my  body  in  pieces,  and  let  those  who  are 
most  hungry  devour  it !  " 

But  in  this  extremity  relief  at  last  was  afforded  by  the  de- 
cisive measures  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  ordered  all  the  neigh- 
boring dikes  to  be  opened  and  the  sluices  raised,  thus  sweeping 
away  the  besiegers  on  the  waves  of  the  ocean.  The  inhabitants  of 
Leyden  were  apprised  of  this  intention  by  means  of  letters  in- 
trusted to  the  safe  carriage  of  pigeons  trained  for  the  purpose. 
The  inundation  was  no  sooner  effected  than  hundreds  of  flat-bot- 
tomed boats  brought  abundance  of  supplies  to  the  half-famished 
town,  while  a  violent  storm  carried  the  sea  across  the  country  for 
twenty  leagues  around,  and  destroyed  the  Spanish   camp,   with 


PACIFICATION    OF    GHENT  *    119 

1574-1575 

above  looo  soldiers,  who  were  overtaken  by  the  flood.  This  de- 
liverance took  place  on  October  3,  on  which  day  it  is  still  annually 
celebrated  by  the  descendants  of  the  grateful  citizens. 

It  was  now  for  the  first  time  that  Spain  would  consent  to 
listen  to  advice  or  mediation  which  had  for  its  object  the  termina- 
tion of  this  frightful  war.  The  Emperor  Maximilian  II.  renewed 
at  this  epoch  his  efforts  with  Philip,  and  under  such  favorable 
auspices  conferences  commenced  at  Breda,  where  the  Counts 
Schwartzenburg  and  Hohenloe,  brothers-in-law  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  met,  on  the  part  of  the  emperor,  the  deputies  from  the 
King  of  Spain  and  the  patriots,  and  hopes  of  a  complete  pacifica- 
tion were  generally  entertained.  But  three  months  of  deliberation 
proved  their  fallacy.  The  patriots  demanded  toleration  for  the 
Reformed  religion.  The  point  was  referred  to  Spain,  and  Philip 
utterly  refused  any  real  concessions.  The  congress  was  therefore 
broken  up,  and  both  oppressors  and  oppressed  resumed  their  arms 
with  increased  vigor  and  tenfold  desperation. 

Requesens  had  long  fixed  his  eyes  on  Zealand  as  the  scene  of 
an  expedition  by  which  he  hoped  to  repair  the  failure  before 
Leyden,  and  he  caused  an  attempt  to  be  made  on  the  town  of 
Zuriczee,  in  the  Island  of  Scauwen,  which  merits  record  as  one  of 
the  boldest  and  most  original  enterprises  of  the  war. 

The  little  islands  of  Zealand  are  separated  from  each  other  by 
narrow  branches  of  the  sea  which  are  fordable  at  low  water;  and 
it  was  by  such  a  passage,  two  leagues  in  breadth,  and  till  then  un- 
tried, that  the  Spanish  detachment  of  1750  men,  under  Ulloa  and 
other  veteran  captains,  advanced  to  their  exploit  in  the  midst  of 
dangers  greatly  increased  by  a  night  of  total  darkness.  Each  man 
carried  round  his  neck  two  pounds  of  gunpowder,  with  a  sufficient 
supply  of  biscuit  for  two  days,  and  holding  their  swords  and 
muskets  high  over  their  heads,  they  boldly  waded  forward,  three 
abreast,  in  some  places  up  to  their  shoulders  in  water.  The  alarm 
was  soon  given,  and  a  shower  of  balls  was  poured  upon  the  gallant 
band  from  upwards  of  forty  boats  which  the  Zealanders  sent 
rapidly  toward  the  spot.  The  only  light  afforded  to  either  party 
was  from  the  flashes  of  their  guns,  and  while  the  adventurers  ad- 
vanced with  undaunted  firmness,  their  equally  daring  assailants, 
jumping  from  their  boats  into  the  water,  attacked  them  with  oars 
and  hooked  handspikes,  by  which  many  of  the  Spaniards  were 
destroyed.      The  rear  guard  in  this  extremity,  cut  off  from  their 


120  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1575-1576 

companions,  was  obliged  to  retreat;  but  the  rest,  after  a  consider- 
able loss,  at  length  reached  the  land,  and  thus  gained  possession 
of  the  island,  on  the  night  of  September  28,  1575. 

Requesens  quickly  afterward  repaired  to  the  scene  of  this  gal- 
lant exploit  and  commenced  the  siege  of  Zuriczee,  which  he  did 
not  live  to  see  completed.  After  having  passed  the  winter  months 
in  preparations  for  the  success  of  this  object  which  he  had  so  much 
at  heart,  he  was  recalled  to  Brussels  by  accounts  of  new  mutinies 
in  the  Spanish  cavalry,  and  the  very  evening  before  he  reached  the 
city  he  was  attacked  by  a  violent  fever,  which  carried  him  off  five 
days  afterward,  on  March  5,  1576. 

The  suddenness  of  Requesen's  illness  had  not  allowed  time 
for  even  the  nomination  of  a  successor,  to  which  he  was  authorized 
by  letters  patent  from  the  king.  It  is  believed  that  his  intention 
was  to  appoint  Count  Mansfield  to  the  command  of  the  army,  and 
Barlaimont  to  the  administration  of  civil  affairs.  The  govern- 
ment, however,  now  devolved  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the  council 
of  state,  which  was  at  that  period  composed  of  nine  members.  The 
principal  of  these  was  Philip  de  Croi,  Duke  of  Aerschot ;  the  other 
leading  members  were  Giglius,  Counts  Mansfield  and  Barlaiment, 
and  the  council  was  degraded  by  numbering,  among  the  rest, 
Debris  and  De  Roda,  two  of  the  notorious  Spaniards  who  had 
formed  part  of  the  Council  of  Blood. 

The  king  resolved  to  leave  the  authority  in  the  hands  of  this 
incongruous  mixture  until  the  arrival  of  Don  John  of  Austria,  his 
natural  brother,  whom  he  had  already  named  to  the  office  of  gov- 
ernor-general. But  in  the  interval  the  government  assumed  an 
aspect  of  unprecedented  disorder,  and  widespread  anarchy  em- 
braced the  whole  country.  The  royal  troops  openly  revolted  and 
fought  against  each  other  like  deadly  enemies.  The  nobles, 
divided  in  their  views,  arrogated  to  themselves  in  different  places 
the  titles  and  powers  of  command.  Public  faith  and  private  probity 
seemed  alike  destroyed.  Pillage,  violence,  and  ferocity  were  the 
commonplace  characteristics  of  the  times. 

Circumstances  like  these  may  be  well  supposed  to  have  re- 
vived the  hopes  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  quickly  saw  amid 
this  chaos  the  elements  of  order,  strength,  and  liberty.  Such  had 
been  his  previous  affliction  at  the  harrowing  events  which  he  wit- 
nessed, and  despaired  of  being  able  to  relieve,  that  he  had  proposed 
to  the  patriots  of  Holland  and  Zealand  to  destroy  the  dikes,  sub- 


PACIFICATION     OF     GHENT  1«1 

1578 

merge  the  whole  country,  and  abandon  to  the  waves  the  soil  which 
refused  security  to  freedom.  But  Providence  destined  him  to  be 
the  savior,  instead  of  the  destroyer,  of  his  country.  The  chief 
motive  of  this  excessive  desperation  had  been  the  apparent  deser- 
tion by  Queen  Elizabeth  of  the  cause  which  she  had  hitherto  so 
mainly  assisted.  Offended  at  the  capture  of  some  English  ships 
by  the  Dutch,  who  asserted  that  they  carried  supplies  for  the 
Spaniards,  she  withdrew  from  them  her  protection,  but  by  timely 
submission  they  appeased  her  wrath,  and  it  is  thought  by  some  his- 
torians that  even  thus  early  the  Prince  of  Orange  proposed  to 
place  the  revolted  provinces  wholly  under  her  protection.  This, 
however,  she  for  the  time  refused,  but  she  strongly  solicited 
Philip's  mercy  for  these  unfortunate  countries,  through  the  Span- 
ish ambassador  at  her  court. 

In  the  meantime  the  council  of  state  at  Brussels  seemed  dis- 
posed to  follow  up  as  far  as  possible  the  plans  of  Requesens.  The 
siege  of  Zuriczee  was  continued,  but  speedy  dissensions  among  the 
members  of  the  government  rendered  their  authority  contemptible, 
if  not  utterly  extinct,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  The  exhaustion 
of  the  treasury  deprived  them  of  all  power  to  put  an  end  to  the 
mutinous  excesses  of  the  Spanish  troops,  and  the  latter  carried 
their  licentiousness  to  the  utmost  bounds.  Zuriczee,  admitted  to 
a  surrender,  and  saved  from  pillage  by  the  payment  of  a  large  sum, 
was  lost  to  the  loyalists  within  three  months  from  the  want  of  dis- 
cipline in  its  garrison,  and  the  towns  and  burghs  of  Brabant  suf- 
fered as  much  from  the  excesses  of  their  nominal  protectors  as 
could  have  been  inflicted  by  the  enemy.  The  mutineers  at  length, 
to  the  number  of  some  thousands,  attacked  and  carried  by  force 
the  town  of  Alost,  at  equal  distances  between  Brussels,  Ghent, 
and  Antwerp,  imprisoned  the  chief  citizens,  and  levied  contribu- 
tions on  all  the  country  round.  It  was  then  that  the  council  of 
state  found  itself  forced  to  proclaim  them  rebels,  traitors,  and 
enemies  to  the  king  and  the  country,  and  called  on  all  loyal  sub- 
jects to  pursue  and  exterminate  them  wherever  they  were  found 
in  arms. 

This  proscription  of  the  Spanish  mutineers  was  followed  by 
the  convocation  of  the  states-general,  and  the  government  thus 
hoped  to  maintain  some  show  of  union  and  some  chance  of  author- 
ity. But  a  new  scene  of  intestine  violence  completed  the  picture 
of  executive  inefficiency.      On  September  4  the  grand  bailiff  of 


122  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1576 

Brabant,  as  lieutenant  of  the  Baron  de  Heze,  governor  of  Brussels, 
entered  the  council-chamber  by  force  and  arrested  all  the  members 
present  on  suspicion  of  treacherously  maintaining  intelligence  with 
the  Spaniards.  Counts  Mansfield  and  Barlaimont  were  imprisoned, 
with  some  others.  Viglius  escaped  this  indignity  by  being  absent 
from  indisposition.  This  bold  measure  was  hailed  by  the  people 
with  unusual  joy,  as  being  the  signal  for  that  total  change  in  the 
government  which  they  reckoned  on  as  the  prelude  to  complete 
freedom. 

The  states-general  were  all  at  this  time  assembled,  with  the 
exception  of  those  of  Flanders,  who  joined  the  others  with  but 
little  delay.  The  general  reprobation  against  the  Spaniards  pro- 
cured a  second  decree  of  proscription,  and  their  desperate  conduct 
justified  the  utmost  violence  with  which  they  might  be  pursued. 
They  still  held  the  citadels  of  Ghent  and  Antwerp,  as  well  as 
Maestricht,  which  they  had  seized  on,  sacked,  and  pillaged  with  all 
the  fury  which  a  barbarous  enemy  inflicts  on  a  town  carried  by 
assault.  On  November  3  the  other  body  of  mutineers,  in  pos- 
session of  Alost,  marched  to  the  support  of  their  fellow-brigands 
in  the  citadel  of  Antwerp,  and  both,  simultaneously  attacking  this 
magnificent  city,  became  masters  of  it  in  all  points,  in  spite  of  a 
vigorous  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  citizens.  They  then  began  a 
scene  of  rapine  and  destruction  unequaled  in  the  annals  of  these 
desperate  wars.  More  than  five  hundred  private  mansions  and  the 
splendid  town-house  were  delivered  to  the  flames,  and  seven 
thousand  citizens  perished  by  the  sword  or  in  the  waters  of  the 
Scheldt.  For  three  days  the  carnage  and  the  pillage  went  on  with 
unheard-of  fury,  and  the  most  opulent  town  in  Europe  was  thus 
reduced  to  ruin  and  desolation  by  a  few  thousand  frantic  ruffians. 
The  loss  was  valued  at  above  two  million  golden  crowns.  Vargas 
and  Romero  were  the  principal  leaders  of  this  infernal  exploit, 
which  has  taken  its  place  in  history  under  the  significant  name  of 
the  "  Spanish  Fury." 

The  states-general,  assembled  at  Ghent,  were  solemnly  opened 
on  September  14.  Being  apprehensive  of  a  sudden  attack  from 
the  Spanish  troops  in  the  citadel,  they  proposed  a  negotiation,  and 
demanded  a  protecting  force  from  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  im- 
mediately entered  into  a  treaty  with  their  envoy,  and  sent  to  their 
assistance  eight  companies  of  infantry  and  seventeen  pieces  of 
cannon  under  the  command  of  the  English  colonel,  Temple.    In  the 


•5  5 


5^     a 


PACIFICATION     OF     GHENT  123 

1676 

midst  of  this  turmoil  and  apparent  insecurity  the  states-general 
proceeded  in  their  great  work  and  assumed  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment in  the  name  of  the  king.  They  allowed  the  council  of  state 
still  nominally  to  exist,  but  they  restricted  its  powers  far  within 
those  it  had  hitherto  exercised;  and  the  government,  thus  abso- 
lutely assuming  the  form  of  a  republic,  issued  manifestos  in  jus- 
tification of  its  conduct  and  demanded  succor  from  all  the  foreign 
powers.  To  complete  the  union  between  the  various  provinces, 
it  was  resolved  to  resume  the  negotiations  commenced  the  pre- 
ceding year  at  Breda,  and  October  lo  was  fixed  for  this  new  con- 
gress to  be  held  in  the  town-house  of  Ghent. 

On  the  day  appointed  the  congress  opened  its  sittings,  and 
rapidly  arriving  at  the  termination  of  its  important  object,  the 
celebrated  treaty  known  by  the  title  of  "  The  Pacification  of 
Ghent "  was  published  on  November  8,  to  the  sound  of  bells  and 
trumpets,  while  the  ceremony  was  rendered  still  more  imposing  by 
the  thunder  of  the  artillery  which  battered  the  walls  of  the  be- 
sieged citadel.  It  was  even  intended  to  have  delivered  a  general 
assault  against  the  place  at  the  moment  of  the  proclamation,  but 
the  mutineers  demanded  a  capitulation,  and  finally  surrendered 
three  days  afterward.  It  was  the  wife  of  the  famous  Mondragon 
who  commanded  the  place  in  her  husband's  absence,  and  by  her 
heroism  gave  a  new  proof  of  the  capability  of  the  sex  to  surpass 
the  limits  which  nature  seems  to  have  fixed  for  their  conduct. 

The  "  Pacification  "  contained  twenty-five  articles.  Among 
others,  it  was  agreed : 

That  a  full  amnesty  should  be  passed  for  all  offenses  what- 
soever. 

That  the  estates  of  Brabant,  Flanders,  Hainault,  Artois,  and 
others,  on  the  one  part;  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  the  states  of 
Holland  and  Zealand  and  their  associates,  on  the  other;  promised 
to  maintain  good  faith,  peace,  and  friendship,  firm  and  inviolable; 
to  mutually  assist  each  other,  at  all  times,  in  council  and  action; 
and  to  employ  life  and  fortune,  above  all  things,  to  expel  from 
the  country  the  Spanish  soldiers  and  other  foreigners. 

That  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  injure  or  insult,  by  word  or 
deed,  the  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion,  on  pain  of  being  treated 
as  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace. 

That  the  edicts  against  heresy  and  the  proclamations  of  the 
Duke  of  Alva  should  be  suspended. 


lSt4t 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 


1576 

That  all  confiscations,  sentences,  and  judgments  rendered  since 
1566  should  be  annulled. 

That  the  inscriptions,  monuments,  and  trophies  erected  by  the 
Duke  of  Alva  should  be  demolished. 

Such  were  the  general  conditions  of  the  treaty.  The  remain- 
ing articles  chiefly  concerned  individual  interests.  The  promulga- 
tion of  this  great  charter  of  union,  which  was  considered  as  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  country,  was  hailed  in  all  parts  of  the 
Netherlands  with  extravagant  demonstrations  of  joy. 


Chapter    XI 

REVOLT  FROM   SOVEREIGNTY  AND  DECLARATION   OF 

INDEPENDENCE.     1576-1580 

ON  the  very  day  of  the  sack  of  Antwerp  Don  John  of  Aus- 
tria arrived  at  Luxemburg.  This  ominous  commence- 
ment of  his  viceregal  reign  was  not  belied  by  the  events 
which  followed,  and  the  hero  of  Lepanto,  the  victor  of  the  Turks, 
the  idol  of  Christendom,  was  destined  to  have  his  reputation  and 
well-won  laurels  tarnished  in  the  service  of  the  despotism  to  which 
he  now  became  an  instrument.  Don  John  was  a  natural  son  of 
Charles  V.,  and  to  fine  talents  and  a  good  disposition  united  the 
advantages  of  hereditary  courage  and  a  liberal  education.  He 
was  born  at  Ratisbon  on  February  24,  1553.^  His  mother  was  a 
woman  of  humble  birth,  Barbara  Blomberg,  with  whom  Charles 
had  a  brief  intrigue.  The  prince,  having  passed  through  France, 
disguised,  for  greater  secrecy  or  in  a  youthful  frolic,  as  a  negfro 
valet  to  Prince  Octavo  Gonzaga,  entered  on  the  limits  of  his  new 
government  and  immediately  wrote  to  the  council  of  state  in  the 
most  condescending  terms  to  announce  his  arrival. 

Nothing  could  present  a  less  promising  aspect  to  the  prince 
than  the  country  at  the  head  of  which  he  was  now  placed.  He 
found  all  its  provinces,  with  the  sole  exception  of  Luxemburg, 
in  the  anarchy  attendant  on  a  ten  years'  civil  war,  and  apparently 
resolved  on  a  total  breach  of  their  allegiance  to  Spain.  He  found 
his  best,  indeed  his  only,  course  to  be  that  of  moderation  and  man- 
agement, and  it  is  most  probable  that  at  the  outset  his  intentions 
were  really  honorable  and  candid. 

The  states-general  were  not  less  embarrassed  than  the  prince. 
His  sudden  arrival  threw  them  into  great  perplexity,  which  was 
increased  by  the  conciliatory  tone  of  his  letter.  They  had  now 
removed  from  Ghent  to  Brussels,  and  first  sending  deputies  to  pay 
the  honors  of  a  ceremonious  welcome  to  Don  John,  they  wrote  to 

1  The  best  life  of  Don  John  of  Austria,  whose  career  was  one  of  the  most 
romantic  in  history,  is  by  Stirling  MaxwelL 

196 


126  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1577 

the  Prince  of  Orange,  then  in  Holland,  for  his  advice  in  this  diffi- 
cult conjuncture.  The  prince  replied  by  a  memorial  of  considerable 
length,  dated  Middelburg,  November  30,  in  which  he  gave  them 
the  most  wise  and  prudent  advice,  the  substance  of  which  was  to 
receive  any  propositions  coming  from  the  wily  and  perfidious  Philip 
with  the  utmost  suspicion,  and  to  refuse  all  negotiation  with  his 
deputy  if  the  immediate  withdrawal  of  the  foreign  troops  was  not 
at  once  conceded  and  the  acceptance  of  the  pacification  guaranteed 
in  its  most  ample  extent. 

This  advice  was  implicitly  followed,  the  states  in  the  meantime 
taking  the  precaution  of  assembling  a  large  body  of  troops  at 
Wavre,  between  Brussels  and  Namur,  the  command  of  which  was 
given  to  the  Count  of  Lalain.  A  still  more  important  measure  was 
the  dispatch  of  an  envoy  to  England  to  implore  the  assistance  of 
Elizabeth.  She  acted  on  this  occasion  with  frankness  and  intre- 
pidity, giving  a  distinguished  reception  to  the  envoy,  De  Sweve- 
ghem,  and  advancing  a  loan  of  £100,000  "sterling,  on  condition 
that  the  states  made  no  treaty  without  her  knowledge  or  partic- 
ipation. 

To  secure  still  more  closely  the  federal  union  that  now  bound 
the  different  provinces,  a  new  compact  was  concluded  by  the  depu- 
ties on  January  9,  1577,  known  by  the  title  of  "The  Union  of 
Brussels,"  and  signed  by  the  prelates,  ecclesiastics,  lords,  gentle- 
men, magistrates,  and  others,  representing  the  estates  of  the  Neth- 
erlands. A  copy  of  this  act  of  union  was  transmitted  to  Don  John, 
to  enable  him  thoroughly  to  understand  the  present  state  of  feeling 
among  those  with  whom  he  was  now  about  to  negotiate.  He  main- 
tained a  general  tone  of  great  moderation  throughout  the  confer- 
ence which  immediately  took  place,  and  after  some  weeks  of 
cautious  parleying,  in  the  latter  part  of  which  the  candor  of  the 
prince  seemed  doubtful,  and  which  the  native  historians  do  not 
hesitate  to  stigmatize  as  merely  assumed,  a  treaty  was  signed  at 
Marche-en-Famenne,  a  place  between  Namur  and  Luxemburg,  in 
which  every  point  insisted  on  by  the  states  was,  to  the  surprise  and 
delight  of  the  nation,  fully  consented  to  and  guaranteed.  This 
important  document  called  "  The  Perpetual  Edict,"  bears  date 
February  12,  1577,  and  contains  nineteen  articles.  They  were 
based  on  the  acceptance  of  the  "  Pacification,"  but  one  expressly 
stipulated  that  the  Count  of  Beuren  should  be  set  at  liberty  as  soon 
as  the  Prince  of  Orange,  his  father,  had  on  his  part  ratified  the 


REVOLT    AND     INDEPENDENCE         127 

1577 

treaty.  An  important  change,  however,  was  the  stipulation  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Catholic  religion  everywhere. 

Don  John  made  his  solemn  entry  into  Brussels  on  May  i  and 
assumed  the  functions  of  his  limited  authority.  The  conditions  of 
the  treaty  were  promptly  and  regularly  fulfilled.  The  citadels  oc- 
cupied by  the  Spanish  soldiers  were  given  up  to  the  Flemish  and 
Walloon  troops,  and  the  departure  of  these  ferocious  foreigners 
took  place  at  once.  The  large  sums  required  to  facilitate  this 
measure  made  it  necessary  to  submit  for  a  while  to  the  presence 
of  the  German  mercenaries.  It  seems  evident  that  both  Don  John 
and  the  king  were  anxious  for  peace  at  this  time.  But  the  im- 
petuous nature  of  the  prince  could  ill  brook  the  almost  total  de- 
privation of  his  authority  by  the  states-general.  He  at  once 
demanded  from  the  council  of  state  the  command  of  the  troops 
and  the  disposal  of  the  revenues.  The  answer  was  a  simple  refer- 
ence to  the  "  Pacification  of  Ghent,"  and  the  prince's  rejoinder  was 
an  apparent  submission,  and  the  immediate  dispatch  of  letters  in 
cipher  to  the  king,  demanding  a  supply  of  troops  sufficient  to  re- 
store his  ruined  authority.  These  letters  were  intercepted  by  the 
King  of  Navarre,  afterward  Henry  IV.  of  France,  who  immediately 
transmitted  them  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  his  old  friend  and 
fellow-soldier. 

Public  opinion,  to  the  suspicions  of  which  Don  John  had  been 
from  the  first  obnoxious,  was  now  unanimous  in  attributing  to 
design  all  that  was  unconstitutional  and  unfair.  His  impetuous 
character  could  no  longer  submit  to  the  restraint  of  his  authority, 
and  he  resolved  to  take  some  bold  and  decided  measure.  A  very 
favorable  opportunity  was  presented  in  the  arrival  of  the  Queen 
of  Navarre,  Marguerite  of  Valois,  at  Namur,  on  her  way  to  Spa. 
The  prince,  numerously  attended,  hastened  to  the  former  town 
under  pretense  of  paying  his  respects  to  the  queen.  As  soon  as  she 
left  the  place  he  repaired  to  the  glacis  of  the  town,  as  if  for  the 
mere  enjoyment  of  a  walk,  admired  the  external  appearance  of 
the  citadel,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  be  admitted  inside.  The 
young  Count  of  Barlaimont,  in  the  absence  of  his  father,  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  place,  and  an  accomplice  in  the  plot  with  Don  John, 
freely  admitted  him.  The  prince  immediately  drew  forth  a  pistol, 
and  exclaiming  that  that  was  the  first  moment  of  his  government, 
took  possession  of  the  place  with  his  immediate  guard,  and  instantly 
formed  them  into  a  devoted  garrison. 


1^ 


HOLLAND     AiSFD     BELGIUM 


15t? 

The  Prince  of  Orange  immediately  made  public  the  inter- 
cepted letters,  and  at  the  solicitation  of  the  states-general  repaired 
to  Brussels,  into  which  city  he  made  a  truly  triumphant  entry  on 
September  23,  and  was  immediately  nominated  governor,  protec- 
tor or  ruward  of  Brabant — a  dignity  which  had  fallen  into  disuse, 
but  was  revived  on  this  occasion,  and  which  was  little  inferior  in 
power  to  that  of  the  dictators  of  Rome.  His  authority,  now  almost 
unlimited,  extended  over  every  province  of  the  Netherlands,  except 
Namur  and  Luxemburg,  both  of  which  acknowledged  Don  John. 

The  first  care  of  the  liberated  nation  was  to  demolish  the 
various  citadels  rendered  celebrated  and  odious  by  the  excesses  of 
the  Spaniards.  This  was  done  with  an  enthusiastic  industry  in 
which  every  age  and  sex  bore  a  part  and  which  promised  well  for 
liberty.  Among  the  ruins  of  that  of  Antwerp  the  statue  of  the 
Duke  of  Alva  was  discovered,  dragged  through  the  filthiest  streets 
of  the  town,  and,  with  all  the  indignity  so  well  merited  by  the 
original,  it  was  finally  broken  into  a  thousand  pieces. 

The  country  in  conferring  such  extensive  powers  on  the 
Prince  of  Orange  had  certainly  gone  too  far,  not  for  his  desert, 
but  for  its  own  tranquillity.  It  was  impossible  that  such  an  eleva- 
tion should  not  excite  the  discontent  and  awaken  the  energy  of  the 
haughty  aristocracy  of  Flanders  and  Brabant,  and  particularly  of 
the  house  of  Croi,  the  ancient  rivals  of  that  of  Nassau.  The  then 
representative  of  that  family  seemed  the  person  most  suited  to 
counterbalance  William's  excessive  power.  The  Duke  of  Aerschot 
was  therefore  named  governor  of  Flanders,  and  he  immediately 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  confederacy  of  the  Catholic  party,  which 
quickly  decided  to  offer  the  chief  government  of  the  country,  still 
in  the  name  of  Philip,  to  the  Archduke  Mathias,  brother  of  Em- 
peror Rudolf  II,  and  cousin  german  to  Philip  of  Spain,  a  youth 
only  nineteen  years  of  age.  A  Flemish  gentleman  named  Maelsted 
was  intrusted  with  the  proposal.  Mathias  joyously  consented,  and, 
quitting  Vienna  with  the  greatest  secrecy,  he  arrived  at  Maestricht 
without  any  previous  announcement,  and  expected  only  by  the  party 
that  had  invited  him,  at  the  end  of  October,  1577. 

The  Prince  of  Orange,  instead  of  showing  the  least  symptom 
of  dissatisfaction  at  this  underhand  proceeding  aimed  at  his  per- 
sonal authority,  announced  his  perfect  approval  of  the  nomination, 
and  was  the  foremost  in  recommending  measures  for  the  honor  of 
the  archduke  and  the  security  of  the  country.     He  drew  up  the 


REVOLT     AND     INDEPENDENCE         129 

1577 

basis  of  a  treaty  for  Mathias's  acceptance,  on  terms  which  guar- 
anteed to  the  council  of  state  and  the  states-general  the  virtual 
sovereignty,  and  left  to  the  young  prince  little  beyond  the  fine  title 
which  had  dazzled  his  boyish  vanity.  The  Prince  of  Orange  was 
appointed  his  lieutenant  in  all  the  branches  of  the  administration, 
civil,  military,  or  financial,  and  the  Duke  of  Aerschot,  who  had 
hoped  to  obtain  an  entire  domination  over  the  puppet  he  had  brought 
upon  the  stage,  saw  himself  totally  foiled  in  his  project  and  left 
without  a  chance  or  a  pretext  for  the  least  increase  to  his  influence. 

But  a  still  greater  disappointment  attended  this  ambitious  noble- 
man in  the  very  stronghold  of  his  power.  The  Flemings,  driven 
by  persecution  to  a  state  of  fury  almost  unnatural,  had,  in  their 
antipathy  to  Spain,  adopted  a  hatred  against  Catholicism  which 
had  its  source  only  in  political  frenzy,  while  the  converts  imagined 
it  to  arise  from  reason  and  conviction.  Two  men  had  taken  ad- 
vantage of  this  state  of  the  public  mind  and  gained  over  it  an 
unbounded  ascendency.  They  were  Francis  de  Kethulle,  Lord  of 
Ryhove,  and  John  Hembyse,  and  each  seemed  formed  to  realize 
the  beau-ideal  of  a  factious  demagogue.  They  had  acquired  su- 
preme power  over  the  people  of  Ghent,  and  had  at  their  command 
a  body  of  20,000  resolute  and  well-armed  supporters.  The  Duke 
of  Aerschot  vainly  attempted  to  oppose  his  authority  to  that  of 
these  men,  and  on  one  occasion  imprudently  exclaimed  that  he 
would  have  them  hanged,  even  though  they  were  protected  by 
the  Prince  of  Orange  himself.  The  same  night  Ryhove  sum- 
moned the  leaders  of  his  bands,  and  quickly  assembling  a  consider- 
able force,  they  repaired  to  the  duke's  hotel,  made  him  prisoner, 
and,  without  allowing  him  time  to  dress,  carried  him  away  in  tri- 
umph. At  the  same  time  the  bishops  of  Bruges  and  Ypres,  the 
high  bailiffs  of  Ghent  and  Courtrai,  the  governor  of  Oudenarde, 
and  other  important  magistrates  were  arrested — accused  of  com- 
plicity with  the  duke,  but  of  what  particular  offense  the  lawless 
demagogues  did  not  deign  to  specify.  The  two  tribunes  imme- 
diately divided  the  whole  honors  and  authority  of  administration, 
Ryhove  as  military,  and  Hembyse  as  civil,  chief. 

The  latter  of  these  legislators  completely  changed  the  forms 
of  the  government.  He  revived  the  ancient  privileges  destroyed 
by  Charles  V.  and  took  all  preliminary  measures  for  forcing  the 
various  provinces  to  join  with  the  city  of  Ghent  in  forming  a  fed- 
erative republic.    The  states-general  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  were 


130  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1577-1578 

alarmed  lest  these  troubles  might  lead  to  a  renewal  of  the  anarchy 
from  the  effects  of  which  the  country  had  but  just  obtained  breath- 
ing-time. Ryhove  consented,  at  the  remonstrance  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  to  release  the  Duke  of  Aerschot,  but  William  was 
obliged  to  repair  to  Ghent  in  person  in  the  hope  of  establishing 
order.  He  arrived  on  December  29  and  entered  on  a  strict  inquiry 
with  his  usual  calmness  and  decision.  He  could  not  succeed  in  ob- 
taining the  liberty  of  the  other  prisoners,  though  he  pleaded  for 
them  strongly.  Having  severely  reprimanded  the  factious  leaders, 
and  pointed  out  the  dangers  of  their  illegal  course,  he  returned 
to  Brussels,  leaving  the  factious  city  in  a  temporary  tranquillity 
which  his  firmness  and  discretion  could  alone  have  obtained. 

The  Archduke  Mathias,  having  visited  Antwerp  and  acceded  to 
all  the  conditions  required  of  him,  made  his  public  entry  into  Brussels 
on  January  18,  1578,  and  was  installed  in  his  dignity  of  governor- 
general  amid  the  usual  fetes  and  rejoicings.  Don  John  of  Austria 
was  at  the  same  time  declared  an  enemy  to  the  country,  with  a 
public  order  to  quit  it  without  delay,  and  a  prohibition  was  issued 
against  any  inhabitant  acknowledging  his  forfeited  authority. 

War  was  now  once  more  openly  declared,  some  fruitless  nego- 
tiations having  afforded  a  fair  pretext  for  hostilities.  The  rapid 
appearance  of  a  numerous  army  under  the  orders  of  Don  John  gave 
strength  to  the  suspicions  of  his  former  dissimulation.  It  was 
currently  believed  that  large  bodies  of  the  Spanish  troops  had  re- 
mained concealed  in  the  forests  of  Luxemburg  and  Lorraine,  while 
several  regiments,  which  had  remained  in  France  in  the  service 
of  the  league,  immediately  reentered  the  Netherlands.  Alexander 
Farnese,  Prince  of  Parma,  son  of  the  former  governant,  came  to 
the  aid  of  his  uncle,  Don  John,  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  of  Ital- 
ians, and  these  several  reinforcements,  with  the  German  auxiliaries 
still  in  the  country,  composed  an  army  of  20,000  men.  The  army 
of  the  states-general  was  still  larger,  but  far  inferior  in  point  of 
discipline.  It  was  commanded  by  Antoine  de  Goignies,  a  gentle- 
man of  Hainault    and  an  old  soldier  of  the  school  of  Charles  V. 

After  a  sharp  affair  at  the  village  of  Riminants,  in  which  the 
royalists  had  the  worst,  the  two  armies  met  at  Gemblours,  on 
January  31,  1578,  and  the  Prince  of  Parma  gained  a  complete  vic- 
tory, almost  with  his  cavalry  only,  taking  De  Goignies  prisoner, 
with  the  whole  of  his  artillery  and  baggage.  The  account  of  his 
victory  is  almost  miraculous.     The  royalists,  if  we  are  to  credit 


REVOLT     AND     INDEPENDENCE         131 

187B 

their  most  minute  but  not  impartial  historian,  had  only  1200  men 
engaged,  by  whom  6000  were  put  to  the  sword,  with  the  loss  of  but 
12  men  and  little  more  than  an  hour's  labor. 

The  news  of  this  battle  threw  the  states  into  the  utmost  con- 
sternation. Brussels  being  considered  insecure,  the  Archduke 
Mathias  and  his  council  retired  to  Antwerp,  but  the  victors  did  not 
feel  their  forces  sufificient  to  justify  an  attack  upon  the  capital. 
They,  however,  took  Louvain,  Tirlemont,  and  several  other  towns, 
but  these  conquests  were  of  little  import  in  comparison  with  the 
loss  of  Amsterdam,  which  declared  openly  and  unanimously  for  the 
patriot  cause.  The  states-general  recovered  their  courage  and  pre- 
pared for  a  new  contest.  They  sent  deputies  to  the  Diet  of  Worms 
k)  ask  succor  from  the  princes  of  the  empire.  The  Count  Palatine, 
John  Casimir,  repaired  to  their  assistance  with  a  considerable  force 
of  Germans  and  English,  all  equipped  and  paid  by  Queen  Elizabeth. 
The  Duke  of  Anjou,  brother  of  Henry  III.  of  France,  hovered 
on  the  frontiers  of  Hainault  with  a  respectable  army,  and  the  cause 
of  liberty  seemed  not  quite  desperate. 

But  all  the  various  chiefs  had  separate  interests  and  opposite 
views,  while  the  fanatic  violence  of  the  people  of  Ghent  sapped  the 
foundations  of  the  pacification  to  which  the  town  had  given  its 
name.  The  Walloon  provinces,  deep-rooted  in  their  attachment 
to  the  Catholic  religion,  which  they  loved  still  better  than  political 
freedom,  and  full  of  hatred  for  the  Calvinists  of  Ghent,  gradually 
withdrew  from  the  common  cause,  and  without  yet  openly  becom- 
ing reconciled  with  Spain,  they  adopted  a  neutrality  which  was 
tantamount  to  it.  Don  John  was,  however,  deprived  of  all  chance 
of  reaping  any  advantage  from  these  unfortunate  dissensions.  He 
was  suddenly  taken  ill  in  his  camp  at  Bougy,  and  died,  after  a 
fortnight's  suffering,  on  October  i,  1578,  in  the  thirty-third  year 
of  his  age. 

This  unlooked-for  close  to  a  career  which  had  been  so  brilliant, 
and  to  a  life  from  which  so  much  was  yet  to  be  expected,  makes 
us  pause  to  consider  for  a  moment  the  different  opinions  of  his 
times  and  of  history  on  the  fate  of  a  personage  so  remarkable.  The 
contemporary  Flemish  memoirs  say  that  he  died  of  the  plague; 
those  of  Spain  call  his  disorder  the  purple  fever.  Contemporary 
opinion  was  largely  to  the  effect  that  he  was  poisoned  by  Philip, 
who  was  jealous  of  Don  John's  popularity  and  ambition.  But 
there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  he  died  of  the  camp  fever,  weak- 


132 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 


1578 

ened  as  he  was  by  the  mental  and  physical  strain  of  his  difficult 
position. 

The  Prince  of  Parma,  who  now  succeeded  by  virtue  of  Don 
John's  testament  to  the  post  of  governor-general  in  the  name  of 
the  king,  remained  intrenched  in  his  camp.  He  expected  much 
from  the  disunion  of  his  various  opponents,  and  what  he  foresaw 
very  quickly  happened.     The  Duke  of  Anjou  disbanded  his  troops 


THE  NETHERLANDS  1579 

^  NORTHERN  PROVINCES  IN  THE  UNION   ^ 

\  OF  UTRECHT  O 

\  CITIES  J  DINING  THE  UNION  _-        ^ 


Crudes        enent  'Antwerp-./  ,-   : 

x^  ^  ^   ^  s  ,.;■:...  or    7        K '"-<-, 


/HAI  NAU  LT 


*^     Ulmbray 


i^JLUXEMBURG       ^^ 


^ 


fi 


and  retired  to  France,  and  the  Count  Palatine,  following  his  ex- 
ample, withdrew  to  Germany,  having  first  made  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  engage  the  Queen  of  England  as  a  principal  in  the  con- 
federacy. In  this  perplexity  the  Prince  of  Orange  saw  that  the 
real  hope  for  safety  was  in  uniting  still  more  closely  the  northern 
provinces  of  the  union,  for  he  discovered  the  fallacy  of  reckoning 
on  the  cordial  and  persevering  fidelity  of  the  Walloons.  He  there- 
fore convoked  a  new  assembly  at  Utrecht,  and  the  deputies  of 


HEVOLT    AND    INDEPENDENCE         135 

1579 

Holland,  Guelders,  Zealand,  Utrecht,  and  Groningen  signed,  Janu- 
ary 29,  1579,  the  famous  act  called  the  "Union  of  Utrecht,"  the 
real  basis  or  fundamental  pact  of  the  republic  of  the  United  Prov- 
inces. It  makes  no  formal  renunciation  of  allegiance  to  Spain,  but 
this  is  virtually  done  by  the  omission  of  the  king's  name.  The 
twenty-six  articles  of  this  act  consolidate  the  indissoluble  connec- 
tion of  the  United  Provinces,  each  preserving  its  separate  fran- 
chises, and  following  its  own  good  pleasure  on  the  subject  of 
religion.  The  towns  of  Ghent,  Antwerp,  Bruges,  and  Ypres  soon 
after  acceded  to  and  joined  the  union. 

The  Prince  of  Parma  now  assumed  the  offensive,  and  marched 
against  Maestricht  with  his  whole  army.  He  took  the  place  in 
the  month  of  June,  1579,  after  a  gallant  resistance,  and  delivered 
it  to  sack  and  massacre  for  three  entire  days.  About  the  same  time 
Mechlin  and  Bois-le-duc  returned  to  their  obedience  to  the  king. 
Hembyse,  having  renewed  his  attempts  against  the  public  peace  at 
Ghent,  the  Prince  of  Orange  repaired  to  that  place  with  speed,  and 
having  reestablished  order,  and  frightened  the  inveterate  dema- 
gogue into  secret  flight,  Flanders  was  once  more  restored  to 
tranquillity. 

An  attempt  was  made  this  year  at  a  reconciliation  between  the 
king  and  the  states.  The  Emperor  Rudolf  H.  and  Pope  Gregory 
Xni.  offered  their  mediation,  and  on  April  5  a  congress  assembled 
at  Cologne,  where  a  number  of  the  most  celebrated  diplomatists 
in  Europe  were  collected.  But  it  was  early  seen  that  no  settlement 
would  result  from  the  apparently  reciprocal  wish  for  peace.  One 
point — that  of  religion,  the  main,  and  indeed  the  only  one  in  de- 
bate— was  now  maintained  by  Philip's  ambassador  in  the  same  un- 
yielding spirit,  as  if  torrents  of  blood  and  millions  of  treasure  had 
never  been  sacrificed  in  the  cause.  Philip  was  inflexible  in  his  reso- 
lution never  to  concede  the  exercise  of  the  Reformed  worship, 
and  after  nearly  a  year  of  fruitless  consultation  and  the  expendi- 
ture of  immense  sums  of  money,  the  congress  separated  on  No- 
vember 17  without  having  effected  anything.  There  were  several 
other  articles  intended  for  discussion,  had  the  main  one  been  ad- 
justed, on  which  Philip  was  fully  as  determined  to  make  no  con- 
cession ;  but  his  obstinacy  was  not  put  to  these  new  tests. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  for  the  execution  of  the  great 
and  decisive  step  for  independence,  the  means  of  effecting  which 
had  been  so  long  the  object  of  exertion  and  calculation  on  the  part 


134.  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1579-1580 

of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  He  now  resolved  to  assemble  the  states 
of  the  United  Provinces,  solemnly  abjure  the  dominion  of  Spain, 
and  depose  King  Philip  from  the  sovereignty  he  had  so  justly  for- 
feited. Much  has  been  written  both  for  and  against  this  measure, 
which  involved  every  argument  of  natural  rights  and  municipal 
privilege.  The  natural  rights  of  man  may  seem  to  comprise  only 
those  which  he  enjoys  in  a  state  of  nature;  but  he  carries  several 
of  those  with  him  into  society,  which  is  based  upon  the  very  prin- 
ciple of  their  preservation.  The  great  precedent  which  so  many 
subsequent  revolutions  have  acknowledged  and  confirmed  is  that 
which  we  now  record.  The  states-general  assembled  at  Antwerp 
early  in  the  year  1580,  and,  in  spite  of  all  the  opposition  of  the 
Catholic  deputies,  the  authority  of  Spain  was  revoked  forever,  and 
the  United  Provinces  declared  a  free  and  independent  state.  At 
the  same  time  was  debated  the  important  question  as  to  whether 
the  protection  of  the  new  state  should  be  offered  to  England  or  to 
France.  Opinions  were  divided  on  this  point,  but  that  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange  being  in  favor  of  the  latter  country,  from  many 
motives  of  sound  policy  it  was  decided  to  offer  the  sovereignty  to 
the  Duke  of  Anjou.  The  Archduke  Mathias,  who  was  present  at 
the  deliberations,  was  treated  with  little  ceremony,  but  he  obtained 
the  promise  of  a  pension  when  the  finances  were  in  a  situation  to 
afford  it.  The  definite  proposal  to  be  made  to  the  Duke  of  Anjou 
was  not  agreed  upon  for  some  months  afterward,  and  it  was  in 
the  month  of  August  following  that  St.  Aldegonde  and  other  depu- 
ties waited  on  the  duke  at  the  chateau  of  Plessis-le-Tours,  when  he 
accepted  the  offered  sovereignty  on  the  proposed  conditions,  which 
set  narrow  bounds  to  his  authority  and  gave  ample  security  to  the 
United  Provinces.  The  articles  were  formally  signed  on  Sep- 
tember 19,  and  the  duke  not  only  promised  quickly  to  lead  a 
numerous  army  to  the  Netherlands,  but  he  obtained  a  letter  from 
his  brother,  Henry  HI.,  dated  December  26,  by  which  the  king 
pledged  himself  to  give  further  aid  as  soon  as  he  might  succeed 
in  quieting  his  own  disturbed  and  unfortunate  country.  The 
states-general,  assembled  at  Delft,  ratified  the  treaty  on  December 
30,  and  the  year  which  was  about  to  open  seemed  to  promise  the 
consolidation  of  freedom  and  internal  peace. 


Chapter    XII 

EDICT  OF  PHILIP  AND   MURDER  OF  PRINCE  OF 
ORANGE.     1580-1584 

PHILIP  might  be  well  excused  the  utmost  violence  of  re- 
sentment on  this  occasion,  had  it  been  bounded  by  fair  and 
honorable  efforts  for  the  maintenance  of  his  authority.  But 
every  general  principle  seemed  lost  in  the  base  inveteracy  of  private 
hatred.  The  ruin  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  his  main  object, 
and  his  industry  and  ingenuity  were  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  procure 
his  murder.^  Existing  documents  prove  that  he  first  wished  to 
accomplish  this  in  such  a  way  that  the  responsibility  and  odium 
of  the  act  might  rest  on  the  Prince  of  Parma,  but  the  mind  of  the 
prince  was  too  magnanimous  to  allow  of  a  participation  in  the 
crime. 

The  correspondence  on  the  subject  is  preserved  in  the  ar- 
chives, and  the  date  of  Philip's  first  letter,  November  30,  1579, 
proves  that  even  before  the  final  disavowal  of  his  authority  by  the 
United  Provinces  he  had  harbored  his  diabolical  design.  The 
prince  remonstrated,  but  with  no  effect.  It  even  appears  that 
Philip's  anxiety  would  not  admit  of  the  delay  necessary  for  the 
prince's  reply.  The  infamous  edict  of  proscription  against  Wil- 
liam bears  date  of  March  15,  and  the  most  pressing  letters  com- 
manded the  Prince  of  Parma  to  make  it  public.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, till  June  15  that  he  sent  forth  the  fatal  ban. 

The  edict,  under  Philip's  own  signature,  is  a  tissue  of  in- 
vective and  virulence.  The  illustrious  object  of  its  abuse  is  accused, 
of  having  engaged  the  heretics  to  profane  the  churches  and  break 
the  images;  of  having  persecuted  and  massacred  the  Catholic 
priests;  of  hypocrisy,  tyranny,  and  perjury;  and,  as  the  height  of 
atrocity,  of  having  introduced  liberty  of  conscience  into  his  coun- 
try.   For  these  causes,  and  many  others,  the  king  declares  him 

*  The  project  of  the  murder  of  William   did   not,   however,  originate  with 
Philip,  but  was  proposed  by  Cardinal  Granvelle. 

135 


136  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1580-1581 

"  proscribed  and  banished  as  a  public  pest ! "  and  it  is  permitted  to 
all  persons  to  assail  him  "  in  his  fortune,  person,  and  life,  as  an 
enemy  to  human  nature."  Philip  also,  "  for  the  recompense  of 
virtue  and  the  punishment  of  crime,"  promises  to  whoever  will 
deliver  up  William  of  Nassau,  dead  or  alive,  "  in  lands  or  money, 
at  his  choice,  the  sum  of  25,000  golden  crowns;  to  grant  a  free 
pardon  to  such  persons  for  all  former  offenses  of  what  kind 
soever,  and  to  invest  him  with  letters  patent  of  nobility." 

In  reply  to  this  brutal  document  William  published  all  over 
Europe  his  famous  "  Apology,"  of  which  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
language  could  not  produce  a  more  splendid  refutation  of  every 
charge  or  a  more  terrible  recrimination  against  the  guilty  tyrant. 
It  was  attributed  to  the  pen  of  Pierre  de  Villars,  a  Protestant  min- 
ister. William  from  the  hour  of  his  proscription  became  at  once 
the  equal  in  worldly  station,  as  he  had  ever  been  the  superior  in 
moral  worth,  of  his  royal  calumniator.  He  took  his  place  as  a 
prince  of  an  imperial  family,  not  less  ancient  or  illustrious  than 
that  of  the  house  of  Austria,  and  he  stood  forward  at  the  supreme 
tribunal  of  public  feeling  and  opinion  as  the  accuser  of  a  king  who 
disgraced  his  lineage  and  his  throne. 

By  a  separate  article  in  the  treaty  with  the  states,  the  Duke 
of  Anjou  secured  to  William  the  sovereignty  of  Holland  and 
Zealand,  as  well  as  the  lordship  of  Friesland,  with  his  title  of 
stadtholder,  retaining  to  the  duke  his  claim  on  the  prince's  faith 
and  homage.  The  exact  nature  of  William's  authority  was  finally 
ratified  on  July  24,  1581,  on  which  day  he  took  the  prescribed 
oath  and  entered  on  the  exercise  of  his  well-earned  rights. 

Philip  now  formed  the  design  of  sending  back  the  Duchess  of 
Parma  to  resume  her  former  situation  as  governant  and  exercise 
the  authority  conjointly  with  her  son.  But  the  latter  positively 
declined  this  proposal  of  divided  power,  and  he  consequently  was 
left  alone  to  its  entire  exercise.  Military  affairs  made  but  slow 
progress  this  year.  The  most  remarkable  event  was  the  capture 
of  La  Noue,  a  native  of  Bretagne,  one  of  the  bravest  officers,  and 
certainly  the  cleverest,  in  the  service  of  the  states,  into  which  he 
had  passed  after  having  given  important  aid  to  the  Huguenots  of 
France.  He  was  considered  so  important  a  prize  that  Philip  re- 
fused all  proposals  for  his  exchange,  and  detained  him  in  the 
castle  of  Limburg  for  five  years. 

'    The  siege  of  Cambray  was  now  undertaken  by  the  Prince  of 


PRINCE     OF     ORANGE  137 

1582 

Parma  in  person,  while  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  at  the  head  of  a  large 
army  and  the  flower  of  the  French  nobility,  advanced  to  its  relief, 
and  soon  forced  his  rival  to  raise  the  siege.  The  new  sovereign  of 
the  Netherlands  entered  the  town  and  was  received  with  tumul- 
tuous joy  by  the  half-starved  citizens  and  garrison.  The  Prince 
of  Parma  sought  an  equivalent  for  this  check  in  the  attack  of 
Tournay,  which  he  immediately  afterward  invested.  The  town 
was  but  feebly  garrisoned  but  the  Protestant  inhabitants  prepared 
for  a  desperate  defense,  under  the  exciting  example  of  the  Princess 
of  Epinoi,  wife  of  the  governor,  who  was  himself  absent.  This 
remarkable  woman  furnishes  another  proof  of  the  female  heroism 
which  abounded  in  these  wars.  Though  wounded  in  the  arm,  she 
fought  in  the  breach  sword  in  hand,  braving  peril  and  death.  And 
when  at  length  it  was  impossible  to  hold  out  longer,  she  obtained 
an  honorable  capitulation,  and  marched  out,  on  November  29,  on 
horseback,  at  the  head  of  the  garrison,  with  an  air  of  triumph 
rather  than  of  defeat. 

The  Duke  of  Anjou  had  repaired  to  England  in  hopes  of  com- 
pleting his  project  of  marriage  with  Elizabeth.  After  three  months 
of  almost  confident  expectation  the  Virgin  Queen,  at  this  time 
fifty  years  of  age,  with  a  caprice  not  quite  justifiable,  broke  all  her 
former  engagements,  and,  happily  for  herself  and  her  country, 
declined  the  marriage.  Anjou  burst  out  into  all  the  violence  of 
his  turbulent  temper  and  set  sail  for  the  Netherlands.  Elizabeth 
made  all  the  reparation  in  her  power,  by  the  honors  paid  him  on 
his  dismissal.  She  accompanied  him  as  far  as  Canterbury,  and 
sent  him  away  under  the  convoy  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  her  chief 
favorite,  and  with  a  brilliant  suite  and  a  fleet  of  fifteen  sail.  Anjou 
was  received  at  Antwerp  with  equal  distinction,  and  was  in- 
augurated there  on  February  19  as  Duke  of  Brabant,  Lothier, 
Limburg,  and  Guelders,  with  many  other  titles,  of  which  he  soon 
proved  himself  unworthy.  When  the  Prince  of  Orange  at  the 
ceremony  placed  the  ducal  mantle  on  his  shoulders  Anjou  said  to 
him,  "  Fasten  it  so  well,  prince,  that  they  cannot  take  it  off 
again ! " 

During  the  rejoicings  which  followed  this  ceremony  Philip's 
proscription  against  the  Prince  of  Orange  put  forth  its  first  fruits. 
The  latter  gnve  a  grand  dinner  in  the  chateau  of  Antwerp,  whic^ 
he  occupied,  on  March  18,  the  birthday  of  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  and 
as  he  was  quitting  the  dining-room  on  his  way    to    his  private 


138 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 


1583 


chamber  a  young  man  stepped  forward  and  offered  a  pretended 
petition,  William  being  at  all  times  of  easy  access  for  such  an 
object.  While  he  read  the  paper  the  treacherous  suppliant  dis- 
charged a  pistol  at  his  head,  the  ball  striking  him  under  the  left 
ear  and  passing  out  at  the  right  cheek.  As  he  tottered  and  fell, 
the  assassin  drew  a  poniard  to  add  suicide  to  the  crime,  but  he  was 
instantly  put  to  death  by  the  attendant  guards.  The  young  Count 
Maurice,  William's  second  son,  examined  the  murderer's  body, 
and  the  papers  found  on  him  and  subsequent  inquiries  revealed 
that  his  name  was  John  Jaureguay,  he  was  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  a  native  of  Biscay,  and  clerk  to  a  Spanish  merchant 
of  Antwerp  called  Caspar  Anastro.  This  man  had  instigated  him 
to  the  crime,  having  received  a  promise  signed  by  King  Philip, 
engaging  to  give  him  28,000  ducats  and  other  advantages  if  he 
would  undertake  to  assassinate  the  Prince  of  Orange.  The  in- 
ducements held  out  by  Anastro  to  his  simple  dupe  were  backed 
strongly  by  the  persuasions  of  Antony  Timmerman,  a  Dominican 
monk,  and  by  Venero,  Anastro's  cashier,  who  had  from  fear  de- 
clined becoming  himself  the  murderer.  Jaureguay  had  duly  heard 
mass  and  received  the  sacrament  before  executing  its  attempt,  and 
in  his  pockets  were  found  a  catechism  of  the  Jesuits,  with  tablets 
filled  with  prayers  in  the  Spanish  language,  one  in  particular  being 
addressed  to  the  Angel  Cabriel,  imploring  his  intercession  with 
God  and  the  Virgin  to  aid  him  in  the  consummation  of  his  object. 
Timmerman  and  Venero  made  a  full  avowal  and  suffered  death  in 
the  barbarous  manner  of  the  times.  Anastro,  however,  effected 
his  escape. 

The  alarm  and  indignation  of  the  people  of  Antwerp  knew  no 
bounds.  Their  suspicions  at  first  fell  on  the  Duke  of  Anjou  and 
the  French  party,  but  the  truth  was  soon  discovered,  and  the  rapid 
recovery  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  from  his  desperate  wound  set 
everything  once  more  to  rights.  But  a  premature  report  of  his 
death  flew  rapidly  abroad,  and  he  had  anticipated  proofs  of  his 
importance  in  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  in  the  frantic  delight  of  the 
base  and  the  deep  affliction  of  the  good.  Within  three  months 
William  was  able  to  accompany  the  Duke  of  Anjou  in  his  visits  to 
Ghent,  Bruges,  and  the  other  chief  towns  of  Flanders,  in  each  of 
which  the  ceremony  of  inauguration  was  repeated.  Several  mil- 
itary exploits  now  took  place,  and  various  towns  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  opposing  parties,  changing  masters  with  a  rapidity,  as  well 


PRINCE     OF    ORANGE  1S9 

1583 

as  a  previous  endurance  of  suffering,  that  must  have  carried  con- 
fusion on  the  contending  principles  of  allegiance  into  the  hearts 
and  heads  of  the  harassed  inhabitants. 

The  Duke  of  Anjou,  intemperate,  inconstant,  and  un- 
principled, saw^  that  his  authority  was  but  the  shadow  of  power 
compared  to  the  deep-fixed  practices  of  despotism  which  governed 
the  other  nations  of  Europe.  The  French  officers  who  formed  his 
suite  and  possessed  all  his  confidence  had  no  difficulty  in  raising 
his  discontent  into  treason  against  the  people  with  whom  he  had 
made  a  solemn  compact.  The  result  of  their  councils  was  a  deep- 
laid  plot  against  Flemish  liberty,  and  its  execution  was  ere  long 
attempted.  He  sent  secret  orders  to  the  governors  of  Dunkirk, 
Bruges,  Termonde,  and  other  towns  to  seize  on  and  hold  them  in 
his  name,  reserving  for  himself  the  infamy  of  the  enterprise 
against  Antwerp.  To  prepare  for  its  execution  he  caused  his 
numerous  army  of  French  and  Swiss  to  approach  the  city,  and 
they  were  encamped  in  the  neighborhood,  at  a  place  called  Borger- 
hout. 

On  January  17,  1583,  the  duke  dined  somewhat  earlier  than 
usual,  under  the  pretext  of  proceeding  afterward  to  review  his 
army  in  their  camp.  He  set  out  at  noon,  accompanied  by  his 
guard,  of  two  hundred  horse,  and  when  he  reached  the  second 
drawbridge  one  of  his  officers  gave  the  preconcerted  signal  for  an 
attack  on  the  Flemish  guard  by  pretending  that  he  had  fallen  and 
broken  his  leg.  The  duke  called  out  to  his  followers,  "  Courage, 
courage !  the  town  is  ours ! "  The  guard  at  the  gate  was  all  soon 
dispatched,  and  the  French  troops,  which  waited  outside  to  the 
number  of  3000,  rushed  quickly  in,  furiously  shouting  the  war- 
cry,  "  Town  taken !  town  taken !  kill !  kill !  "  The  astonished  but 
intrepid  citizens,  recovering  from  their  confusion,  instantly  flew  to 
arms.  All  differences  in  religion  or  politics  were  forgotten  in  the 
common  danger  to  their  freedom.  Catholics  and  Protestants,  men 
and  women,  rushed  alike  to  the  conflict.  The  ancient  spirit  of 
Flanders  seemed  to  animate  all.  Workmen,  armed  with  the  in- 
struments of  their  various  trades,  started  from  their  shops  and 
flung  themselves  upon  the  enemy.  A  baker  sprang  from  the  cellar 
where  he  was  kneading  his  dough  and  with  his  oven  shovel  struck 
a  French  dragoon  to  the  ground.  Those  who  had  firearms,  after 
expending  their  bullets,  took  from  their  pouches  and  pockets  pieces 
of  money,   which   they   bent   between   their   teeth   and  used   for 


140  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1583-1584 

charging  their  arquebuses.  The  French  were  driven  successively 
from  the  streets  and  ramparts,  and  the  cannons  planted  on  the 
latter  were  immediately  turned  against  the  reinforcements  which 
attempted  to  enter  the  town.  The  French  were  everywhere  beaten; 
the  Duke  of  Anjou  saved  himself  by  flight  and  reached  Dender- 
monde  after  the  perilous  necessity  of  passing  through  a  large  tract 
of  inundated  country,  for  the  citizens  of  Mechlin  had  cut  the  dikes 
to  impede  his  retreat.  His  loss  in  this  base  enterprise  amounted 
to  1500,  while  that  of  the  citizens  did  not  exceed  80  men.  The 
attempts  simultaneously  made  on  the  other  towns  succeeded  at 
Dunkirk  and  Dendermonde,  but  all  the  others  failed. 

The  character  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  never  appeared  so 
thoroughly  great  as  at  this  crisis.  With  wisdom  and  magna- 
nimity rarely  equaled  and  never  surpassed,  he  threw  himself  and 
his  authority  between  the  indignation  of  the  country  and  the  guilt 
of  Anjou,  saving  the  former  from  excess  and  the  latter  from 
execration.  The  disgraced  and  discomfited  duke  proffered  to  the 
states  excuses  as  mean  as  they  were  hypocritical,  and  his  brother, 
the  King  of  France,  sent  a  special  envoy  to  intercede  for  him.  But 
it  was  the  influence  of  William  that  screened  the  culprit  from 
public  reprobation  and  ruin,  and  regained  for  him  the  place  and 
power  which  he  might  easily  have  secured  for  himself  had  he  not 
prized  the  welfare  of  his  country  far  above  all  objects  of  private 
advantage.  A  new  treaty  was  negotiated,  confirming  Anjou  in 
his  former  station,  with  renewed  security  against  any  future 
treachery  on  his  part.  He  in  the  meantime  retired  to  France,  to 
let  the  public  indignation  subside,  but  before  he  could  assume  suffi- 
cient confidence  to  again  face  the  country  he  had  so  basely  injured 
his  worthless  existence  was  suddenly  terminated,  some  thought  by 
poison — the  common  solution  of  all  such  doubtful  questions  in 
those  days — in  the  month  of  June,  1584.  He  expired  in  his  twenty- 
ninth  year. 

A  distressing  proof  of  public  ingratitude  and  want  of  judg- 
ment had  previously  been  furnished  by  the  conduct  of  the  people  of 
Antwerp  against  him  who  had  been  so  often  their  deliverer  from 
such  various  dangers.  Unable  to  comprehend  the  greatness  of  his 
mind,  they  openly  accused  the  Prince  of  Orange  of  having  joined 
with  the  French  for  their  subjugation  and  of  having  concealed  a 
body  of  that  detested  nation  in  the  citadel.  The  populace  rushed 
to  the  place,  and  having  minutely  examined  it,  were  convinced  of 


UiLLI.\:.l     llli.    ..;..-.\..    I'KINXE    OF    ORANGE 

(Born    1533.     Died    1584) 

Painting  by  M.  J.   Mierevelt 

at   The  Hague 


PRINCE     OF     ORANGE  141 

1584 

their  own  absurdity  and  the  prince's  innocence.  He  scorned  to 
demand  their  punishment  for  such  an  outrageous  calumny,  but  was 
none  the  less  affected  by  it.  He  took  the  resolution  of  quitting 
Flanders,  as  it  turned  out,  forever,  and  retired  into  Zealand,  where 
he  was  better  known  and  presumably  better  trusted. 

In  the  midst  of  the  consequent  confusion  in  the  former  of 
these  provinces,  the  Prince  of  Parma,  with  indefatigable  vigor, 
made  himself  master  of  town  after  town,  and  turned  his  particu- 
lar attention  to  the  creation  of  a  naval  force,  which  was  greatly 
favored  by  the  possession  of  Dunkirk,  Nieuport,  and  Gravelines. 
Native  treachery  was  not  idle  in  this  time  of  tumult  and  confusion. 
Count  Van  den  Bergh,  brother-in-law  of  William  of  Orange,  now 
governor  of  Friesland  and  Groningen,  had  set  the  basest  example 
and  gone  over  to  the  Spaniards.  The  Prince  of  Chimay,  son  of 
the  Duke  of  Aerschot  and  governor  of  Bruges,  yielded  to  the 
persuasions  of  his  father  and  gave  up  the  place  to  the  Prince 
of  Parma.  Hembyse  also,  amply  confirming  the  bad  opinion 
in  which  the  Prince  of  Orange  always  held  him,  returned  to 
Ghent,  where  he  regained  a  great  portion  of  his  former  influ- 
ence, and  immediately  commenced  a  correspondence  with  the 
Prince  of  Parma,  offering  to  deliver  up  both  Ghent  and  Den- 
dermonde.  An  attempt  was  consequently  made  by  the  Spaniards 
to  surprise  the  former  town,  but  the  citizens  were  prepared  for 
this,  having  intercepted  some  of  the  letters  of  Hembyse,  and  the 
traitor  was  seized,  tried,  condemned,  and  executed  on  August  4, 
1584.  He  was  upwards  of  seventy  years  of  age.  Ryhove,  his 
celebrated  colleague,  who  had  caused  the  arrest  of  his  old  ally, 
died  in  Holland  some  years  later. 

But  the  fate  of  so  insignificant  a  person  as  Hembyse  passed 
almost  unnoticed  in  the  agitation  caused  by  an  event  which  shortly 
preceded  his  death. 

From  the  moment  of  their  abandonment  by  the  Duke  of 
Anjou  the  United  Provinces  considered  themselves  independent, 
and  although  they  consented  to  renew  his  authority  over  the  coun- 
try at  large,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  they  were 
resolved  to  confirm  the  influence  of  the  latter  over  their  particular 
interests,  which  they  were  now  sensible  could  acquire  stability  only 
by  that  means.  The  death  of  Anjou  left  them  without  a  sovereign, 
and  they  did  not  hesitate  in  the  choice  which  they  were  now  called 
upon  to  make.     On  whom,  indeed,  could  they  fix  but  William  of 


142  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1584 

Nassau,  without  the  utmost  injustice  to  him  and  the  deepest  in- 
jury to  themselves?  To  whom  could  they  turn,  in  preference  to 
him  who  had  given  consistency  to  the  early  explosion  of  their 
despair;  to  him  who  helped  to  give  the  country  political  existence, 
then  nursed  it  into  freedom,  and  now  beheld  it  in  the  vigor  and 
prime  of  independence?  He  had  seen  the  necessity,  but  certainly 
overrated  the  value,  of  foreign  support,  to  enable  the  new  state  to 
cope  with  the  tremendous  tyranny  from  which  it  had  broken.  He 
had  tried  successively  Germany,  England,  and  France.  From  the 
first  and  the  last  of  these  powers  he  had  received  two  governors, 
to  whom  he  cheerfully  resigned  the  title.  The  incapacity  of  both, 
and  the  treachery  of  the  latter,  proved  to  the  states  that  their  only 
chance  for  safety  was  in  the  consolidation  of  William's  authority, 
and  they  contemplated  the  noblest  reward  which  a  grateful  nation 
could  bestow  on  a  glorious  liberator. 

Yet  William  still  refused  the  proffered  honor,  still  feeling 
that  the  only  chance  of  union  and  independence  lay  in  the 
sovereignty  of  a  foreign  prince.  After  the  death  of  Anjou,  how- 
ever, his  resolution  wavered  and  he  consented  to  assume  a  limited 
authority.  That  William  had  no  desire  for  despotic  power,  as  he 
has  been  accused,  is  amply  proved  by  the  articles  drawn  up  between 
him  and  the  states.  This  capitulation  exists  at  full  length,  but 
was  never  formally  executed.  Its  conditions  are  founded  on  the 
same  principles  and  conceived  in  nearly  the  same  terms  as  those 
accepted  by  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  and  the  whole  compact  is  one  of 
the  most  thoroughly  liberal  that  history  has  on  record.  The  prince 
repaired  to  Delft  for  the  ceremony  of  his  inauguration,  the  price 
of  his  long  labors ;  but  there,  instead  of  anticipated  dignity,  he  met 
the  sudden  stroke  of  death. 

On  July  ID  as  he  left  his  dining-room,  and  while  he  placed 
his  foot  on  the  first  step  of  the  great  stair  leading  to  the  upper 
apartments  of  his  house,  a  man  named  Balthasar  Gerard  dis- 
charged a  pistol  at  his  body,  three  balls  entering  it.  He  fell  into 
the  arms  of  an  attendant  and  cried  out  faintly,  in  the  French  lan- 
guage, "  God  pity  me !  I  am  sadly  wounded — God  have  mercy  on 
my  soul,  and  on  this  unfortunate  nation !  "  His  sister,  the  Countess 
of  Schwartzenburg,  who  now  hastened  to  his  side,  asked  him  in 
German  if  he  did  not  recommend  his  soul  to  God.  He  answered, 
"  Yes,"  in  the  same  language,  but  with  a  feeble  voice.  He  was 
carried  into  the  dining-room,  where  he  immediately  expired.     His 


PRINCE     OF     ORANGE  148 

1584 

sister  closed  his  eyes.  His  wife,  too,  was  on  the  spot — Louisa, 
daughter  of  the  illustrious  Coligny  and  widow  of  the  gallant 
Count  of  Teligny,  both  of  whom  were  also  murdered  almost  in 
her  sight  in  the  frightful  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew.  We  may 
not  enter  on  a  description  of  the  aflfecting  scene  which  followed, 
but  the  mind  is  pleased  in  picturing  the  bold  solemnity  with  which 
Prince  Maurice,  then  eighteen  years  of  age,  swore — not  vengeance 
or  hatred  against  his  father's  murderers — but  that  he  would  faith- 
fully and  religiously  follow  the  glorious  example  he  had  given 
him. 

There  is  one  important  feature  in  the  character  of  Wil- 
liam which  we  have  hitherto  left  untouched,  but  which  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  death  seemed  to  sanctify  and  point  out  for 
record  in  the  same  page  with  it.  We  mean  his  religious  opinions, 
and  we  shall  dispatch  a  subject  which  is,  in  regard  to  all  men,  so 
delicate,  indeed  so  sacred,  in  a  few  words.  He  was  bom  a 
Lutheran.  When  he  arrived,  a  boy,  at  the  court  of  Charles  V., 
he  was  initiated  into  the  Catholic  creed,  in  which  he  was  thence- 
forward brought  up.  Not  till  after  the  beginning  of  the  revolt 
did  he  embrace  the  doctrines  of  Calvin.  His  whole  public  conduct 
seems  to  prove  that  he  viewed  sectarian  principles  chiefly  in  the 
light  of  political  instruments,  and  that,  himself  a  conscientious 
Christian,  in  the  broad  sense  of  the  term,  he  was  deeply  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  universal  toleration  and  considered  the  various 
shades  of  belief  as  subservient  to  the  one  grand  principle  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty  for  which  he  had  long  devoted  and  at  length 
laid  down  his  life.  His  assassin  was  taken  alive,  and  four  days 
afterward  executed  with  terrible  circumstances  of  cruelty,  which 
he  bore  as  a  martyr  might  have  borne  them.  He  was  a  native  of 
Burgundy,  and  had  for  some  months  lingered  near  his  victim,  and 
insinuated  himself  into  his  confidence  by  a  feigned  attachment  to 
liberty  and  an  apparent  zeal  for  the  Reformed  faith.  He  was 
nevertheless  a  Catholic,  and  claimed  in  his  confession  to  have  com- 
municated his  design  to,  and  received  encouragement  from,  more 
than  one  minister  of  his  faith.  His  avowal  incriminated  one  whose 
character  stands  so  high  in  history  that  it  behooves  us  to  examine 
thoroughly  the  truth  of  the  accusation  and  the  nature  of  the  col- 
lateral proofs  by  which  it  is  supported.  Most  writers  on  this  ques- 
tion have  leaned  to  the  side  which  all  would  wish  to  adopt.  But 
an  original  letter  exists  in  the  archives  of  Brussels,  from  the  Prince 


144  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1584 

of  Parma  himself  to  Philip  of  Spain,  in  which  he  admits  that 
Balthazar  Gerard  had  communicated  to  him  his  intention  of  mur- 
dering the  Prince  of  Orange,  some  months  before  the  deed  was 
done ;  and  he  mixes  phrases  of  compassion  for  "  the  poor  man  " 
(the  murderer)  and  of  praise  for  the  act,  which,  if  the  document 
be  authentic,  furnishes  a  striking  example  of  the  influence  the 
religious  feeling  of  the  time  had  on  the  minds  of  the  most  emi- 
nent men. 


Chapter    XIII 

ALEXANDER,   DUKE  OF   PARMA.     1584-1592 

THE  death  of  William  of  Nassau  not  only  closes  the  scene 
of  his  individual  career,  but  throws  a  deep  gloom  over 
the  history  of  a  revolution  that  was  sealed  by  so  great 
a  sacrifice.  The  animation  of  the  story  seems  suspended.  Its 
events  lose  for  a  time  their  excitement.  The  last  act  of  the  politi- 
cal drama  is  performed.  The  great  hero  of  the  tragedy  is  no  more. 
Most  of  the  other  memorable  actors  have  one  by  one  passed  away. 
A  whole  generation  has  fallen  in  the  contest,  and  it  is  with  feel- 
ings less  intense  that  we  resume  the  details  of  war  and  blood  which 
seem  no  longer  sanctified  by  the  grander  movements  of  heroism. 
The  stirring  impulse  of  slavery  breaking  its  chains  yields  to  the 
colder  inspiration  of  independence  maintaining  its  rights.  The 
men  we  have  now  to  depict  were  born  free,  and  the  deeds  they  did 
were  those  of  stern  resolve  rather  than  of  frantic  despair.  The 
present  picture  may  be  as  instructive  as  the  last,  but  it  is  less  thrill- 
ing. Passion  gives  place  to  reason,  and  that  which  wore  the 
air  of  fierce  romance  is  superseded  by  what  bears  the  stamp  of 
calm  reality. 

The  consternation  caused  by  the  news  of  William's  death  soon 
yielded  to  the  firmness  natural  to  a  people  inured  to  suffering  and 
calamity.  The  United  Provinces  rejected  at  once  the  overtures 
made  by  the  Prince  of  Parma  to  induce  them  to  obedience.  They 
seemed  proud  to  show  that  their  fate  did  not  depend  on  that  of 
one  man.  He  therefore  turned  his  attention  to  the  most  effective 
means  of  obtaining  results  by  force,  which  he  found  it  impossible 
to  secure  by  persuasion.  He  proceeded  vigorously  to  the  reduction 
of  the  chief  towns  of  Flanders,  the  conquest  of  which  would  give 
him  possession  of  the  entire  province,  no  army  now  remaining  to 
oppose  him  in  the  field.  He  soon  obliged  Ypres  and  Dendermonde 
to  surrender,  and  Ghent,  forced  by  famine,  at  length  yielded  on 
reasonable  terms.  The  most  severe  was  the  utter  abolition  of  the 
Reformed  religion — ^by  which  a  large  portion  of  the  population 


146  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1584-1586 

was  driven  to  the  alternative  of  exile,  and  they  passed  over  in 
crowds  to  Holland  and  Zealand,  not  half  of  the  inhabitants  re- 
maining behind.  Mechlin,  and  finally  Brussels,  worn  out  by  a 
fruitless  resistance,  followed  the  example  of  the  rest  in  the  spring 
of  1586,  and  thus  within  a  year  after  the  death  of  William  of 
Nassau  the  power  of  Spain  was  again  established  in  the  whole 
province  of  Flanders  and  the  others  which  comprise  to-day  the 
kingdom  of  Belgium. 

But  these  domestic  victories  of  the  Prince  of  Parma  were 
barren  in  any  of  those  results  which  humanity  would  love  to  see 
in  the  train  of  conquest.  The  reconciled  provinces  presented  the 
most  deplorable  spectacle.  The  chief  towns  were  almost  depopu- 
lated. The  inhabitants  had  in  a  great  measure  fallen  victims  to 
war,  pestilence,  and  famine.  The  thousands  of  villages  which  had 
covered  the  face  of  the  country  were  absolutely  abandoned  to  the 
wolves,  which  had  so  rapidly  increased  that  they  attacked  not  merely 
cattle  and  children,  but  grown-up  persons.  The  dogs,  driven  abroad 
by  hunger,  had  become  as  ferocious  as  other  beasts  of  prey,  and 
joined  in  large  packs  to  hunt  down  brutes  and  men.  Neither  fields 
nor  woods  nor  roads  were  now  to  be  distinguished  by  any  visible 
limits.  All  was  an  entangled  mass  of  trees,  weeds,  and  grass.  The 
prices  of  the  necessaries  of  life  were  so  high  that  people  of  rank, 
after  selling  everything  to  buy  bread,  were  obliged  to  have  recourse 
to  open  beggary  in  the  streets  of  the  great  towns. 

From  this  frightful  picture  and  the  numerous  details  which 
imagination  may  readily  supply,  we  gladly  turn  to  the  contrast 
afforded  by  the  northern  states.  Those  we  have  just  described 
have  a  feeble  hold  upon  our  sympathies ;  we  cannot  pronounce  their 
sufferings  to  be  unmerited.  The  want  of  firmness  or  enlighten- 
ment which  preferred  such  an  existence  to  the  risk  of  entire 
destruction  only  heightens  the  glory  of  the  people  whose  unyield- 
ing energy  and  courage  gained  them  so  proud  a  place  among  the 
independent  nations  of  Europe. 

The  murder  of  William  seemed  to  carry  to  the  United  Prov- 
inces conviction  of  the  weakness  as  well  as  the  atrocity  of  Spain, 
and  the  indecent  joy  excited  among  the  royalists  added  to  their 
courage.  An  immediate  council  was  created,  composed  of  eighteen 
members,  at  the  head  of  which  was  unanimously  placed  Prince 
Maurice  of  Nassau  (who  even  then  gave  striking  indications  of 
talent   and   prudence),   with   the   title   of   stadtholder,   his   elder 


DUKEOFPARMA  147 

1584-1585 

brother,  the  Count  of  Beuren,  now  Prince  of  Orange,  being  still 
kept  captive  in  Spain.  Count  Hohenloe  was  appointed  lieutenant 
general,  and  several  other  measures  were  promptly  adopted  to 
consolidate  the  power  of  the  infant  republic.  But  its  forces  were 
small  compared  to  the  80,000  men  which  Parma  had  under  his 
command.  With  such  means  of  carrying  on  his  conquests  Parma 
sat  down  regularly  before  Antwerp  and  commenced  the  operations 
of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  among  the  many  memorable  sieges  of 
those  times.  He  completely  surrounded  the  city  with  troops, 
placing  a  large  portion  of  his  army  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Scheldt, 
the  other  on  the  right,  and  causing  to  be  attacked  at  the  same  time 
the  two  strong  forts  of  Liefkinshoek  and  Lillo.  Repulsed  on  the 
latter  important  point,  his  only  hope  of  gaining  the  command  of 
the  navigation  of  the  river,  on  which  the  success  of  the  siege  de- 
pended, was  by  throwing  a  bridge  across  the  stream.  Neither  its 
great  rapidity,  nor  its  immense  width,  nor  the  want  of  wood  and 
workmen  could  deter  him  from  this  vast  undertaking.  He  was 
assisted,  if  not  guided,  in  all  his  projects  on  the  occasion  by  Bar- 
roccio,  a  celebrated  Italian  engineer  sent  to  him  by  Philip,  and 
the  merit  of  all  that  was  done  ought  fairly  to  be,  at  least,  divided 
between  the  general  and  the  engineer.  If  enterprise  and  persever- 
ance belonged  to  the  first,  science  and  skill  were  the  portion  of 
the  latter.  They  first  caused  two  strong  forts  to  be  erected  at  op- 
posite sides  of  the  river,  and  adding  to  their  resources  by  every 
possible  means  they  threw  forward  a  pier  on  each  side  of,  and 
far  into,  the  stream.  The  stakes,  driven  firmly  into  the  bed  of  the 
river  and  cemented  with  masses  of  earth  and  stones,  were  at  a 
proper  height  covered  with  planks  and  defended  by  parapets. 
These  estoccades,  as  they  were  called,  reduced  the  river  to  half  its 
original  breadth,  and  the  cannon  with  which  they  were  mounted 
rendered  the  passage  extremely  dangerous  to  hostile  vessels.  But 
to  fill  up  this  strait  a  considerable  number  of  boats  were  fastened 
together  by  chain-hooks  and  anchors,  and  being  manned  and  armed 
with  cannon,  they  were  moored  in  the  interval  between  the  estoc- 
cades. During  these  operations  a  canal  was  cut  between  the  Moer 
and  Calloo,  by  which  means  a  communication  was  formed  with 
Ghent,  which  insured  a  supply  of  ammunition  and  provisions.  The 
works  of  the  bridge,  which  was  2400  feet  in  length,  were  con- 
structed with  such  strength  and  solidity  that  they  braved  the  winds, 
the  floods,  and  the  ice  of  the  whole  winter. 


148  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1584-1585 

The  people  of  Antwerp  at  first  laughed  to  scorn  the  whole 
of  these  stupendous  preparations,  but  when  they  found  that  the 
bridge  resisted  the  natural  elements,  by  which  they  doubted  not 
it  would  have  been  destroyed,  they  began  to  tremble  in  the  antici- 
pation of  famine;  yet  they  vigorously  prepared  for  their  defense, 
and  rejected  the  overtures  made  by  the  Prince  of  Parma  even  at 
this  advanced  stage  of  his  proceedings.  Ninety-seven  pieces  of 
cannon  now  defended  the  bridge,  besides  which  thirty  large  barges 
at  each  side  of  the  river  guarded  its  extremities,  and  forty  ships 
of  war  formed  a  fleet  of  protection  constantly  ready  to  meet  any 
attack  from  the  besieged.  They,  seeing  the  Scheldt  thus  really 
closed  up  and  all  communication  with  Zealand  impossible,  felt 
their  whole  safety  to  depend  on  the  destruction  of  the  bridge.  The 
states  of  Zealand  now  sent  forward  an  expedition,  which,  joined 
with  some  ships  from  Lillo,  gave  new  courage  to  the  besieged,  and 
everything  was  prepared  for  their  great  attempt.  An  Italian  en- 
gineer named  Giambelli  was  at  this  time  in  Antwerp,  and  by  his 
talents  had  long  protracted  the  defense.  He  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  inventor  of  those  terrible  fire-ships  which  gained  the 
title  of  "  infernal  machines,"  and  with  some  of  these  formidable 
instruments  and  the  Zealand  fleet  the  long-projected  attack  was  at 
length  made. 

Early  on  the  night  of  April  4  the  Prince  of  Parma  and  his 
army  were  amazed  by  the  spectacle  of  three  huge  masses  of  flame 
floating  down  the  river,  accompanied  by  numerous  lesser  appear- 
ances of  a  similar  kind,  and  bearing  directly  against  the  prodigious 
barrier  which  had  cost  months  of  labor  to  him  and  his  troops  and 
immense  sums  of  money  to  the  state.  The  whole  surface  of  the 
Scheldt  presented  one  sheet  of  fire;  the  country  all  round  was  as 
visible  as  at  noon;  the  flags,  the  arms  of  the  soldiers,  and  every 
object  on  the  bridge,  in  the  fleet,  or  the  forts,  stood  out  clearly  to 
view,  and  the  pitchy  darkness  of  the  sky  gave  increased  effect  to 
the  marked  distinctness  of  all.  Astonishment  was  soon  succeeded 
by  consternation,  when  one  of  the  three  machines  burst  with  a 
terrific  noise  before  they  reached  their  intended  mark,  but  time 
enough  to  offer  a  sample  of  their  nature.  The  Prince  of  Parma 
with  numerous  officers  and  soldiers  rushed  to  the  bridge  to  witness 
the  effects  of  this  explosion,  and  just  then  a  second  and  still  larger 
fire-ship,  having  burst  through  the  flying  bridge  of  boats,  struck 
against  one  of  the  estoccades.     Alexander,  unmindful  of  danger. 


DUKEOFPARMA  149 

15S5 

used  every  exertion  of  his  authority  to  stimulate  the  sailors  in  their 
attempts  to  clear  away  the  monstrous  machine  which  threatened 
destruction  to  all  within  its  reach.  Happily  for  him  an  ensign  who 
was  near,  forgetting  in  his  general's  peril  all  rules  of  discipline  and 
forms  of  ceremony,  actually  forced  him  from  the  estoccade.  He 
had  not  put  his  foot  on  the  river  bank  when  the  machine  blew  up. 
The  effects  were  such  as  really  baffle  description.  The  bridge  was 
burst  through,  the  estoccade  was  shattered  almost  to  atoms,  and, 
with  all  that  it  supported — men,  cannon,  and  the  huge  machinery 
employed  in  the  various  works — dispersed  in  the  air.  The  Mar- 
quis of  Roubais,  many  other  officers,  and  800  soldiers  perished  in 
all  varieties  of  death — by  flood,  or  flame,  or  the  horrid  wounds 
from  the  missiles  with  which  the  terrible  machine  was  overcharged. 
Fragments  of  bodies  and  limbs  were  flung  far  and  wide,  and  many 
gallant  soldiers  were  destroyed  without  a  vestige  of  the  human 
form  being  left  to  prove  that  they  had  ever  existed.  The  river, 
forced  from  its  bed  at  either  side,  rushed  into  the  forts  and 
drowned  numbers  of  their  garrisons,  while  the  ground  far  beyond 
shook  as  in  an  earthquake.  The  prince  was  struck  down  by  a 
beam  and  lay  for  some  time  senseless,  together  with  two  generals, 
Delvasto  and  Gajitani,  both  more  seriously  wounded  than  he,  and 
many  of  the  soldiers  were  burned  and  mutilated  in  the  most  fright- 
ful manner.  Alexander  soon  recovered,  and  by  his  presence  of 
mind,  humanity,  and  resolution  he  endeavored  with  incredible 
quickness  to  repair  the  mischief,  and  raised  the  confidence  of  his 
army  as  high  as  ever.  Had  the  Zealand  fleet  come  in  time  to  the 
spot  the  whole  plan  might  have  been  crowned  with  success ;  but  by 
some  want  of  concert,  or  accidental  delay,  it  did  not  appear,  and 
consequently  the  beleaguered  town  received  no  relief. 

One  last  resource  was  left  to  the  besieged,  that  which  had 
formerly  been  resorted  to  at  Leyden,  and  by  which  the  place  was 
saved.  To  enable  them  to  inundate  the  immense  plain  which 
stretched  between  Lillo  and  Stabrock  up  to  the  walls  of  Antwerp, 
it  was  necessary  to  cut  through  the  dike  which  defended  it  against 
the  irruptions  of  the  eastern  Scheldt.  This  plain  was  traversed 
by  a  high  and  wide  counter-dike,  called  the  dike  of  Couvestien,  and 
Alexander,  knowing  its  importance,  had  early  taken  possession  of 
and  strongly  defended  it  by  several  forts.  Two  attacks  were  made 
by  the  garrison  of  Antwerp  on  this  important  construction,  the 
latter  of  which  led  to  one  of  the  most  desperate  encounters  of  the 


150  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1585 

war.  The  prince,  seeing  that  on  the  results  of  this  day  depended 
the  whole  consequence  of  his  labors,  fought  with  a  valor  that  even 
he  had  never  before  displayed,  and  he  was  finally  victorious.  The 
confederates  were  therefore  forced  to  abandon  the  attack,  leaving 
3000  dead  upon  the  dike  or  at  its  base,  and  the  Spaniards  lost 
fully  800  men. 

One  more  fruitless  attempt  was  made  to  destroy  the  bridge 
and  raised  the  siege,  by  means  of  an  enormous  vessel  bearing  the 
presumptuous  title  of  The  End  of  the  War.  But  this  floating 
citadel  ran  aground  without  producing  any  effect,  and  the  gallant 
governor  of  Antwerp,  the  celebrated  Philip  de  Saint  Aldegonde, 
was  forced  to  capitulate  on  August  16,  1585,  after  a  siege  of  four- 
teen months.  The  reduction  of  Antwerp  was  considered  a  miracle 
of  perseverance  and  courage.  The  Prince  of  Parma  was  elevated 
by  his  success  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  renown,  and  Philip,  on 
receiving  the  news,  displayed  a  burst  of  joy  such  as  rarely  varied 
his  cold  and  gloomy  reserve. 

Even  while  the  fate  of  Antwerp  was  undecided  the  United 
Provinces,  seeing  that  they  were  still  too  weak  to  resist  alone  the 
undivided  force  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,  had  opened  negotiations 
with  France  and  England  at  once,  in  the  hope  of  gaining  one  or 
the  other  for  an  ally  and  protector.  Henry  HL  gave  a  most  honor- 
able reception  to  the  ambassadors  sent  to  his  court,  and  was  evi- 
dently disposed  to  accept  their  offers  had  not  the  distracted  state 
of  his  own  country,  still  torn  by  civil  war,  quite  disabled  him  from 
any  effective  cooperation.  The  deputies  sent  to  England  were 
also  well  received.  Elizabeth  listened  to  the  proposals  of  the 
states,  sent  them  an  ambassador  in  return,  and  held  out  the  most 
flattering  hopes  of  succor.  But  her  cautious  policy  would  not 
suffer  her  to  accept  the  sovereignty,  though  she  by  no  means  made 
a  final  rejection  of  it,  and  she  declared  that  she  would  in  no  ways 
interfere  with  the  negotiations,  which  might  end  in  its  being  ac- 
cepted by  the  King  of  France.  She  gave  prompt  evidence  of  her 
sincerity  by  an  advance  of  considerable  sums  of  money,  and  by 
sending  to  Holland  a  body  of  6000  troops,  under  the  command  of 
her  favorite,  Robert  Dudley,  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  as  security  for 
the  repayment  of  her  loan  the  towns  of  Flushing  and  Brille  and 
the  castle  of  Rammekins   were  given  up  to  her. 

The  Earl  of  Leicester  was  accompanied  by  a  splendid  retinue 
of  noblemen   and  a  select  troop  of  500  followers.    He  was  received 


DUKE     OF    PARMA  161 

1886 

at  Flushing  by  the  governor,  Sir  PhiHp  Sidney,  his  nephew,  the 
model  of  manners  and  conduct  for  the  young  men  of  his  day.  But 
Leicester  possessed  neither  courage  nor  capacity  equal  to  the  trust 
reposed  in  him,  and  his  arbitrary  and  indolent  conduct  soon  dis- 
gusted the  people  whom  he  was  sent  to  assist.  They  had  in  the 
first  impulse  of  their  gratitude  given  him  the  title  of  governor  and 
captain-general  of  the  provinces,  in  the  hope  of  flattering  Eliza- 
beth. But  this  had  a  far  contrary  effect.  She  was  equally  dis- 
pleased with  the  states  and  with  Leicester,  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  that,  after  many  humble  submissions,  they  were  able  to 
appease  her. 

To  form  a  counterpoise  to  the  power  so  lavishly  conferred  on 
Leicester,  Prince  Maurice  was,  according  to  the  wise  advice  of 
Olden  Barneveldt,  raised  to  the  dignity  of  stadtholder,  captain-gen- 
eral, and  admiral  of  Holland  and  Zealand.  This  is  the  first  in- 
stance of  these  states  taking  on  themselves  the  nomination  to  the 
dignity  of  stadtholder,  for  even  William  had  held  his  commission 
from  Philip,  or  in  his  name;  but  Friesland,  Groningen,  and  Guel- 
ders  had  already  appointed  their  local  governors,  under  the  same 
title,  by  the  authority  of  the  states-general,  the  Archduke  Mathias, 
or  even  of  the  provincial  states.  Holland  had  now  also  at  the  head 
of  its  civil  government  a  citizen  full  of  talent  and  probity,  who 
was  thus  able  to  contend  with  the  insidious  designs  of  Leicester 
against  the  liberty  he  nominally  came  to  protect.  This  was  John 
of  Olden  Barneveldt,  who  was  promoted  from  his  office  of  pension- 
ary of  Rotterdam  to  that  of  Holland,  and  who  accepted  the  dignity 
only  on  condition  of  being  free  to  resign  it  if  any  accommodation 
of  differences  should  take  place  with  Spain. 

Alexander  of  Parma  had,  by  the  death  of  his  mother,  in 
February,  1586,  exchanged  his  title  of  prince  for  the  superior  one 
of  Duke  of  Parma,  and  soon  resumed  his  enterprises  with  his  usual 
energy  and  success.  Various  operations  took  place,  in  which  the 
English  on  every  opportunity  distinguished  themselves,  particu- 
larly in  an  action  near  the  town  of  Grave,  in  Brabant,  and  in  the 
taking  of  Axtel  by  escalade,  under  the  orders  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney. 
A  more  important  affair  occurred  near  Zutphen,  at  a  place  called 
Wemsfeld,  both  towns  having  given  names  to  the  action.  On 
this  occasion  the  veteran  Spaniards  under  the  Marquis  of  Guasto 
were  warmly  attacked  and  defeated  by  the  English,  but  the  victory 
was  dearly  purchased  by  the  death  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  who  was 


15«  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1586-1588 

mortally  wounded  in  the  thigh,  and  expired  a  few  days  afterward, 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty-two  years.  In  addition  to  the  valor, 
talent,  and  conduct,  which  had  united  to  establish  his  fame,  he 
displayed  on  this  last  opportunity  of  his  short  career  an  instance 
of  humanity  that  sheds  a  new  luster  on  even  a  character  like  his. 
Stretched  on  the  battlefield,  in  all  the  agony  of  his  wound,  and 
parched  with  thirst,  his  afflicted  followers  brought  him  some  water, 
procured  with  difficulty  at  a  distance  and  during  the  heat  of  the 
fight.  But  Sidney,  seeing  a  soldier  lying  near,  mangled  like  him- 
self and  apparently  expiring,  refused  the  water,  saying,  "  Give  it 
to  that  poor  man ;  his  sufferings  are  greater  than  mine." 

Leicester's  conduct  was  now  become  quite  intolerable  to  the 
states.  His  incapacity  and  presumption  were  every  day  more  evi- 
dent and  more  revolting.  He  seemed  to  consider  himself  in  a 
province  wholly  reduced  to  English  authority,  and  paid  no  sort  of 
attention  to  the  very  opposite  character  of  the  people.  An  eminent 
Dutch  author  accounts  for  this,  in  terms  which  may  make  an 
Englishman  of  this  age  not  a  little  proud  of  the  contrast  which 
his  character  presents  to  what  it  was  then  considered.  "  The 
Englishman,"  says  Grotius,  "  obeys  like  a  slave  and  governs  like 
a  tyrant;  while  the  Belgian  knows  how  to  serve  and  to  command 
with  equal  moderation."  The  dislike  between  Leicester  and  those 
he  insulted  and  misgoverned  soon  became  mutual.  He  retired  to 
the  town  of  Utrecht,  and  pushed  his  injurious  conduct  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  became  an  object  of  utter  hatred  to  the  provinces. 
All  the  friendly  feelings  toward  England  were  gradually  changed 
into  suspicion  and  dislike.  Conferences  took  place  at  The  Hague 
between  Leicester  and  the  states,  in  which  Barneveld  overwhelmed 
his  contemptible  shuffling  by  the  force  of  irresistible  eloquence  and 
well-deserved  reproaches,  and  after  new  acts  of  treachery,  still 
more  odious  than  his  former,  this  unworthy  favorite  at  last  set  out 
for  England,  to  lay  an  account  of  his  government  at  the  feet  of  the 
queen. 

The  growing  hatred  against  England  was  fomented  by  the 
true  patriots,  who  aimed  at  the  liberty  of  their  country,  and  may  be 
excused  from  the  various  instances  of  treachery  displayed,  not 
only  by  the  commander-in-chief,  but  by  several  of  his  inferiors  in 
command.  A  strong  fort  near  Zutphen,  under  the  government  of 
Roland  York,  the  town  of  Deventer  under  that  of  William  Stanley, 
and  subsequently  Guelders  under  a  Scotchman  named  Fallot,  were 


DUKE     OF    PARMA  153 

1588 

delivered  up  to  the  Spaniards  by  these  men,  and  about  the  same 
time  the  EngHsh  cavalry  committed  some  excesses  in  Guelders  and 
Holland  which  added  to  the  prevalent  prejudice  against  the  nation 
in  general.  This  enmity  was  no  longer  to  be  concealed.  The 
partisans  of  Leicester  were  one  by  one,  under  plausible  pretexts, 
removed  from  the  council  of  state,  and  Elizabeth  having  required 
from  Holland  the  exportation  into  England  of  a  large  quantity 
of  rye,  it  was  firmly  but  respectfully  refused,  as  inconsistent  with 
the  wants  of  the  provinces. 

Prince  Maurice,  from  the  caprice  and  jealousy  of  Leicester, 
now  united  in  himself  the  whole  power  of  command,  and  com- 
menced that  brilliant  course  of  conduct  which  consolidated  the  in- 
dependence of  his  country  and  elevated  him  to  the  first  rank  of 
military  glory.  His  early  efforts  were  turned  to  the  suppression 
of  the  partiality  which  in  some  places  existed  for  English  domina- 
tion, and  he  never  allowed  himself  to  be  deceived  by  the  hopes  of 
peace  held  out  by  the  emperor  and  the  kings  of  Denmark  and  Po- 
land. Without  refusing  their  mediation,  he  labored  incessantly 
to  organize  every  possible  means  for  maintaining  the  war.  His 
efforts  were  considerably  favored  by  the  measures  of  Philip  for  the 
support  of  the  league  formed  by  the  House  of  Guise  against  Henry 
in.  and  Henry  IV.  of  France;  but  still  more  by  the  formidable 
enterprise  which  the  Spanish  monarch  was  now  preparing  against 
England. 

Philip  had  for  some  years  nourished  the  project  of  conquering 
England,  hoping  afterward  to  effect  with  ease  the  subjugation  of 
the  Netherlands.  He  caused  to  be  built,  in  almost  every  port  of 
Spain  and  Portugal,  galleons,  carricks,  and  other  ships  of  war  of 
the  largest  dimensions,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  orders  to  the 
Duke  of  Parma  to  assemble  in  the  harbors  of  Flanders  as  many 
vessels  as  he  could  collect  together.  The  Spanish  fleet,  consisting 
of  more  than  140  ships  of  the  line,  and  manned  by  20,000  sailors, 
assembled  at  Lisbon  under  the  orders  of  the  Duke  of  Medina 
Sidonia,  while  the  Duke  of  Parma,  uniting  his  forces,  held  himself 
ready  on  the  coast  of  Flanders,  with  an  army  of  30,000  men  and 
400  transports.  This  prodigious  force  obtained,  in  Spain,  the 
ostentatious  title  of  the  Invincible  Armada.  Its  destination  was 
for  a  while  attempted  to  be  concealed,  under  pretext  that  it  was 
meant  for  India,  or  for  the  annihilation  of  the  United  Provinces; 
but  the  mystery  was  soon  discovered.      At  the  end  of  May  the 


154  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1888 

principal  fleet  sailed  from  the  port  of  Lisbon,  and,  being  reinforced 
off  Corunna  by  a  considerable  squadron,  the  whole  armament 
steered  its  course  for  the  shores  of  England. 

The  details  of  the  progress  and  the  failure  of  this  celebrated 
attempt  are  so  thoroughly  the  province  of  English  history  that 
they  would  be  in  this  place  superfluous.  But  it  must  not  be  forgot- 
ten that  the  glory  of  the  proud  result  was  amply  shared  by  the 
new  republic,  whose  existence  depended  on  it.  While  Howard  and 
Drake  held  the  British  fleet  in  readiness  to  oppose  the  Spanish 
armada,  that  of  Holland,  consisting  of  but  twenty-five  ships,  under 
the  command  of  Justin  of  Nassau,  prepared  to  take  a  part  in  the 
conflict.  This  gallant  though  illegitimate  scion  of  the  illustrious 
house  whose  name  he  upheld  on  many  occasions,  proved  himself 
on  the  present  worthy  of  such  a  father  as  William  and  such  a 
brother  as  Maurice.  While  the  Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia,  ascend- 
ing the  Channel  as  far  as  Dunkirk,  there  awaited  the  junction  of 
the  Duke  of  Parma  with  his  important  reinforcement,  Justin  of 
Nassau,  by  a  constant  activity  and  a  display  of  intrepid  talent,  con- 
trived to  block  up  the  whole  expected  force  in  the  ports  of  Flanders 
from  Lillo  to  Dunkirk.  The  Duke  of  Parma  found  it  impossible 
to  force  a  passage  on  any  one  point,  and  was  doomed  to  the  morti- 
fication of  knowing  that  the  attempt  was  frustrated  and  the  whole 
force  of  Spain  frittered  away,  discomfited,  and  disgraced  from  the 
want  of  a  cooperation  which  he  could  not,  however,  reproach  him- 
self for  having  withheld.  The  issue  of  the  memorable  expedition 
which  cost  Spain  years  of  preparation,  thousands  of  men,  and 
millions  of  treasure  was  received  in  the  country  which  sent  it  forth 
with  consternation  and  rage.  Philip  alone  possessed  or  affected  an 
apathy  which  he  covered  with  a  veil  of  devotion  that  few  were 
deceived  by.  At  the  news  of  the  disaster  he  fell  on  his  knees  and, 
rendering  thanks  for  that  gracious  dispensation  of  Providence, 
expressed  his  joy  that  the  calamity  was  not  greater. 

The  people,  the  priests,  and  the  commanders  of  the  expedi- 
tion were  not  so  easily  appeased,  or  so  clever  as  their  resourceful 
master  in  concealing  their  mortification.  The  priests  accounted 
for  this  triumph  of  heresy  as  a  punishment  on  Spain  for  suffering 
the  existence  of  the  infidel  Moors  in  some  parts  of  the  country. 
The  defeated  admirals  threw  the  whole  blame  on  the  Duke  of 
Parma.  He,  on  his  part,  sent  an  ample  remonstrance  to  the  king, 
and  Philip  declared  that  he  was  satisfied  with  the  conduct  of  his 


DUKEOFPARMA  155 

1589 

nephew.  Leicester  died  four  days  after  the  final  defeat  and  dis- 
persion of  the  armada. 

The  war  in  the  Netherlands  had  been  necessarily  suffered  to 
languish,  while  every  eye  was  fixed  on  the  progress  of  the  armada, 
from  formation  to  defeat.  But  new  efforts  were  soon  made  by 
the  Duke  of  Parma  to  repair  the  time  he  had  lost,  and  soothe  by 
his  successes  the  disappointed  pride  of  Spain.  Several  officers  now 
came  into  notice,  remarkable  for  deeds  of  great  gallantry  and  skill. 
None  among  these  was  so  distinguished  as  Martin  Schenck,  a 
soldier  of  fortune,  a  man  of  ferocious  activity,  who  began  his  ca- 
reer in  the  service  of  tyranny  and  ended  it  by  chance  in  that  of 
independence.  He  changed  sides  several  times,  but  no  matter  who 
he  fought  for  he  did  his  duty  well,  from  that  unconquerable  prin- 
ciple of  pugnacity  which  seemed  to  make  his  sword  a  part  of 
himself. 

Schenck  had  lately,  for  the  last  time,  gone  over  to  the  side  of 
the  states  and  had  caused  a  fort  to  be  built  in  the  Isle  of  Betewe — 
that  possessed  of  old  by  the  Batavians — ^which  was  called  by  his 
name,  and  was  considered  the  key  to  the  passage  of  the  Rhine. 
From  this  stronghold  he  constantly  harassed  the  Archbishop  of 
Cologne,  and  had  as  his  latest  exploit  surprised  and  taken  the 
strong  town  of  Bonn.  While  the  Duke  of  Parma  took  prompt 
measures  for  the  relief  of  the  prelate,  making  himself  master  in 
the  meantime  of  some  places  of  strength,  the  indefatigable  Schenck 
resolved  to  make  an  attempt  on  the  important  town  of  Nimeugen. 
He  with  great  caution  embarked  a  chosen  body  of  troops  on  the 
Waal  and  arrived  under  the  walls  of  Nimeguen  at  sunrise  on  the 
morning  chosen  for  the  attack.  His  enterprise  seemed  almost 
crowned  with  success,  when  the  inhabitants,  recovering  from  their 
fright,  precipitated  themselves  from  the  town,  forced  the  assailants 
to  retreat  to  their  boats,  and,  carrying  the  combat  into  those  over- 
charged and  fragile  vessels,  upset  several,  and  among  others  that 
which  contained  Schenck  himself,  who,  covered  with  wounds  and 
fighting  to  the  last  gasp,  was  drowned  with  the  greater  part  of  his 
followers.  His  body,  when  recovered,  was  treated  at  first  with  the 
utmost  indignity,  quartered,  and  hung  in  portions  over  the  differ- 
ent gates  of  the  city,  but  was  later  accorded  honorable  burial  by 
the  orders  of  the  Spanish  commander.  In  Schenck  the  states  lost 
their  bravest  and  most  enterprising  leader. 

The  following  year  was  distinguished  by  another  daring  at- 


156  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1590 

tempt  on  the  part  of  the  Hollanders,  but  followed  by  a  different 
result.  A  captain  named  Haranguer  concerted  with  one  Adrien 
Vandenberg  a  plan  for  the  surprise  of  Breda,  on  the  possession  of 
which  Prince  Maurice  had  set  a  great  value.  The  associates  con- 
trived to  conceal  in  a  boat  laden  with  turf  (which  formed  the 
principal  fuel  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the  country),  and 
of  which  Vandenberg  was  master,  eighty  determined  soldiers,  and 
succeeded  in  arriving  close  to  the  city  without  any  suspicion  being 
excited.  One  of  the  soldiers,  named  Mathew  Helt,  being  suddenly 
afifected  with  a  violent  cough,  implored  his  comrades  to  put  him  to 
death  to  avoid  the  risk  of  a  discovery.  But  a  corporal  of  the  city 
guard  having  inspected  the  cargo  with  unsuspecting  carelessness, 
the  immolation  of  the  brave  soldier  became  unnecessary,  and  the 
boat  was  dragged  into  the  basin  by  the  assistance  of  some  of  the 
very  garrison  who  were  so  soon  to  fall  victims  to  the  stratagem. 
At  midnight  the  concealed  soldiers  quitted  their  hiding-places, 
leaped  on  shore,  killed  the  sentinels,  and  easily  became  masters  of 
the  citadel.  Prince  Maurice,  following  close  with  his  army,  soon 
forced  the  town  to  submit,  and  put  it  into  so  good  a  state  of  de- 
fense that  Count  Mansfield,  who  was  sent  to  retake  it,  was  obliged 
to  retreat  after  useless  efforts  to  fulfill  his  mission. 

The  Duke  of  Parma,  whose  constitution  was  severely  injured 
by  the  constant  fatigues  of  war  and  the  anxieties  attending  on  the 
late  transactions,  had  snatched  a  short  interval  for  the  purpose  of 
recruiting  his  health  at  the  waters  of  Spa.  While  at  that  place  he 
received  urgent  orders  from  Philip  to  abandon  for  a  while  all  his 
proceedings  in  the  Netherlands  and  to  hasten  into  France  with  his 
whole  disposable  force  to  assist  the  army  of  the  league.  The 
battle  of  Yvri  (in  which  the  son  of  the  unfortunate  Count  Egmont 
met  his  death  while  fighting  in  the  service  of  his  father's  royal 
murderer)  had  raised  the  prospects  and  hopes  of  Henry  IV.  to  a 
high  pitch,  and  Paris,  which  he  closely  besieged,  was  on  the  point 
of  yielding  to  his  arms.  The  Duke  of  Parma  received  his  uncle's 
orders  with  great  repugnance,  and  lamented  the  necessity  of  leav- 
ing the  field  of  his  former  exploits  open  to  the  enterprise  and 
talents  of  Prince  Maurice.  He  nevertheless  obeyed,  and,  leaving 
Count  Mansfield  at  the  head  of  the  government,  he  conducted  his 
troops  against  the  royal  opponent,  who  alone  seemed  fully  worthy 
of  coping  with  him. 

The  attention  of  all  Europe  was  now  fixed  on  the  exciting 


DUKE     OF     PARMA  167 

1591 

spectacle  of  a  contest  between  these  two  greatest  captains  of  the 
age.  The  glory  of  success,  the  fruit  of  consummate  skill,  was 
gained  by  Alexander,  who  by  an  admirable  maneuver  got  pos- 
session of  the  town  of  Lagny-sur-Seine  under  the  very  eyes  of 
Henry  and  his  whole  army,  and  thus  acquired  the  means  of  provid- 
ing Paris  with  everything  requisite  for  its  defense.  The  French 
monarch  saw  all  his  projects  baffled  and  his  hopes  frustrated,  while 
his  antagonist,  having  fully  completed  his  object,  drew  off  his 
army  through  Champagne  and  made  a  fine  retreat  through  an 
enemy's  country,  harassed  at  every  step,  but  with  scarcely  any 
loss. 

But  while  this  expedition  added  greatly  to  the  renown  of  the 
general,  it  considerably  injured  the  cause  of  Spain  in  the  Low 
Countries.  Prince  Maurice,  taking  prompt  advantage  of  the  ab- 
sence of  his  great  rival,  had  made  himself  master  of  several 
fortresses,  and  some  Spanish  regiments  having  mutinied  against 
the  commanders  left  behind  by  the  Duke  of  Parma,  others,  encour- 
aged by  the  impunity  they  enjoyed,  were  ready  on  the  slightest 
pretext  to  follow  their  example.  Maurice  did  not  lose  a  single 
opportunity  of  profiting  by  circumstances  so  favorable,  and  even 
after  the  return  of  Alexander  he  seized  on  Zutphen,  Deventer,  and 
Nimeugen  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  Spanish  army.  The 
Duke  of  Parma,  daily  breaking  down  under  the  progress  of  disease 
and  agitated  by  these  reverses,  repaired  again  to  Spa,  taking  at 
once  every  possible  means  for  the  recruitment  of  his  army  and  the 
recovery  of  his  health,  on  which  its  discipline  and  the  chances  of 
success  now  so  evidently  depended. 

But  all  his  plans  were  again  frustrated  by  a  renewal  of 
Philip's  peremptory  orders  to  march  once  more  into  France  to 
uphold  the  failing  cause  of  the  league  against  the  intrepidity  and 
talent  of  Henry  IV.  At  this  juncture  the  Emperor  Rudolf  again 
offered  his  mediation  between  Spain  and  the  United  Provinces. 
But  it  was  not  likely  that  the  confederated  states,  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  their  cause  began  to  triumph,  and  their  commerce  was 
every  day  becoming  more  and  more  flourishing,  would  consent  to 
make  any  compromise  with  the  tyranny  they  were  at  length  in  a 
fair  way  of  crushing. 

The  Duke  of  Parma  again  appeared  in  France  in  the  begin- 
nmg  of  the  year  1592,  and,  having  formed  his  communications 
with  the  army  of  the  league,  marched  to  the  relief  of  the  city  of 


168  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1592 

Rouen,  at  that  period  pressed  to  the  last  extremity  by  the  Hugue- 
not forces.  After  some  sharp  skirmishes — and  one  in  particular, 
in  which  Henry  IV.  suffered  his  valor  to  lead  him  into  a  too  rash 
exposure  of  his  own  and  his  army's  safety — a  series  of  maneuvers 
took  place  which  displayed  the  talents  of  the  rival  generals  in  the 
most  brilliant  aspect.  Alexander  at  length  succeeded  in  raising  the 
siege  of  Rouen  and  made  himself  master  of  Condebec,  which  com- 
manded the  navigation  of  the  Seine.  Henry,  taking  advantage  of 
what  appeared  an  irreparable  fault  on  the  part  of  the  duke,  in- 
vested his  army  in  the  hazardous  position  he  had  chosen,  but  while 
believing  that  he  had  the  whole  of  his  enemies  in  his  power,  he 
found  that  Alexander  had  passed  the  Seine  with  his  entire  force — 
raising  his  military  renown  to  the  utmost  possible  height  by  a 
retreat  which  it  was  deemed  utterly  impossible  to  effect. 

On  his  return  to  the  Netherlands  the  duke  found  himself 
again  under  the  necessity  of  repairing  to  Spa  in  search  of  some 
relief  from  his  suffering,  which  was  considerably  increased  by  the 
effects  of  a  wound  received  in  this  last  campaign.  In  spite  of  his 
shattered  constitution  he  maintained  to  the  latest  moment  the  most 
active  endeavors  for  the  reorganization  of  his  army,  and  he  was 
preparing  for  a  new  expedition  into  France  when,  fortunately  for 
the  good  cause  in  both  countries,  he  was  surprised  by  death  on 
December  3,  1592,  at  the  abbey  of  St.  Vaast,  near  Arras,  at  the 
age  of  forty-seven  years.  Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  Philip  II.  had 
been  suspicious  of  the  fidelity  of  his  great  captain,  as  well  as  jeal- 
ous of  his  fame,  and  had  already  sent  the  Count  of  Fuentes  to 
supersede  him. 

Alexander  of  Parma  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
and,  it  may  be  added,  one  of  the  greatest,  characters  of  his  day. 
Most  historians  have  upheld  him  even  higher  perhaps  than  he 
should  be  placed  on  the  scale,  asserting  that  he  can  be  reproached 
with  very  few  of  the  vices  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  Others  con- 
sider this  judgment  too  favorable,  and  accuse  him  of  participation 
in  all  the  crimes  of  Philip,  whom  he  served  so  zealously.  His 
having  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  tyrant,  or  even  having  been 
put  to  death  by  his  orders,  would  little  influence  the  question, 
for  Philip  was  quite  capable  of  ingratitude  or  murder  to  either  an 
accomplice  or  an  opponent  of  his  baseness.  But  even  allowing 
that  Alexander's  fine  qualities  were  sullied  by  his  complicity  in 
these  odious  measures,  we  must  still  in  justice  admit  that  they  were 


ALEXANDER   FARMESE,   DUKE  OF   PARMA 

(Born  1547.     Died  1592) 

Museum   of    Versailles 


DUKEOFPARMA  169 

1592 

too  much  in  the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  particularly  of  the  school 
in  which  he  was  trained ;  and  while  we  lament  that  his  political  or 
private  faults  place  him  on  so  low  a  level,  we  must  rank  him  as 
one  of  the  very  first  masters  in  the  art  of  war  in  his  own  or  any 
other  age.  In  his  fourteen  years  as  governor  he  had  recovered  for 
his  master  all  the  southern  provinces  of  the  Netherlands,  which  on 
his  arrival  had  seemed  hopelessly  lost  to  Spain. 


Chapter   XIV 

SUCCESSES  OF  PRINCE  MAURICE  AND  DEATH  OF 
PHILIP  II.     1592-1599 

THE  Duke  of  Parma  had  chosen  the  Count  of  Mansfield  for 
his  successor,  and  the  nomination  was  approved  by  the 
king.  He  entered  on  his  government  under  most  disheart- 
ening circumstances.  The  rapid  conquests  of  Prince  Maurice  in 
Brabant  and  Flanders  were  scarcely  less  mortifying  that  the  total 
disorganization  into  which  those  two  provinces  had  fallen.  They 
were  ravaged  by  bands  of  robbers  called  Picaroons,  whose  audacity 
reached  such  a  height  that  they  opposed  in  large  bodies  the  forces 
sent  for  their  suppression  by  the  government.  They  on  one  occa- 
sion killed  the  provost  of  Flanders  and  burned  his  lieutenant  in  a 
hollow  tree,  and  on  another  they  mutilated  a  whole  troop  of  the 
national  militia  and  their  commander  with  circumstances  of  most 
revolting  cruelty. 

The  authority  of  governor-general,  though  not  the  title,  was 
now  fully  shared  by  the  Count  of  Fuentes,  who  was  sent  to  Brussels 
by  the  King  of  Spain,  and  the  ill  effects  of  this  double  viceroyalty 
was  soon  seen  in  the  brilliant  progress  of  Prince  Maurice  and  the 
continual  reverses  sustained  by  the  royalist  armies.  The  king 
sacrificed  without  scruple  men  and  treasure  for  the  overthrow  of 
Henry  IV.  and  the  success  of  the  league.  The  affairs  of  the  Neth- 
erlands seemed  now  a  secondary  object,  and  he  drew  largely  on 
his  forces  in  that  country  for  reinforcements  to  the  ranks  of  his 
tottering  allies.  A  final  blow  was,  hpwever,  struck  against  the 
hopes  of  intolerance  in  France,  and  to  the  existence  of  the  league, 
by  the  conversion  of  Henry  IV.  to  the  Catholic  religion,  he  deem- 
ing theological  disputes  which  put  the  happiness  of  a  whole  king- 
dom in  jeopardy  as  quite  subordinate  to  the  public  good. 

Such  was  the  prosperity  of  the  United  Provinces  that  they  had 
been  enabled  to  send  a  considerable  supply,  both  of  money  and  men, 
to  the  aid  of  Henry,  their  constant  and  generous  ally.  And  not- 
withstanding this,  their  armies  and  fleets,  so  far  from  suffering 
diminution,  were  augmented  day  by  day.     Philip,  resolved  to  sum- 

160 


PRINCE     MAURICE  161 

1592-1594 

mon  up  all  his  energy  for  the  revival  of  the  war  against  the  republic, 
now  appointed  the  Archduke  Ernest,  brother  of  the  Emperor 
Rudolf,  to  the  post  which  the  disunion  of  Mansfield  and  Fuentes 
rendered  as  embarrassing  as  it  had  become  inglorious.  This  prince, 
of  a  gentle  and  conciliatory  character,  was  received  at  Brussels  with 
great  magnificence  and  general  joy,  his  presence  reviving  the  deep- 
felt  hopes  of  peace  entertained  by  the  suffering  people.  Such  were 
also  the  cordial  wishes  of  the  prince,  but  more  than  one  design 
formed  at  this  period  against  the  life  of  Prince  Maurice  frustrated 
every  expectation  of  the  kind.  A  priest  of  the  province  of  Namur, 
named  Michael  Renichon,  disguised  as  a  soldier,  was  the  new 
instrument  meant  to  strike  another  blow  at  the  greatness  of  the 
house  of  Nassau  in  the  person  of  its  gallant  representative.  Prince 
Maurice,  as  also  in  that  of  his  brother,  Frederic  Henry,  then  ten 
years  of  age.  On  the  confession  of  the  intended  assassin  he  was 
employed  by  Count  Barlaimont  to  murder  the  two  princes.  Reni- 
chon happily  mismanaged  the  affair  and  betrayed  his  intention.  He 
was  arrested  at  Breda,  conducted  to  The  Hague,  and  there  tried 
and  executed  on  June  3,  1594.  This  miserable  wretch  accused  the 
Archduke  Ernest  of  having  countenanced  his  attempt,  but  nothing 
whatever  tends  to  incriminate,  while  every  probability  acquits,  that 
prince  of  such  a  participation. 

In  this  same  year  a  soldier  named  Peter  Dufour  embarked  in 
a  like  atrocious  plot.  He,  too,  was  seized  and  executed  before  he 
could  carry  it  into  effect,  and  to  his  dying  hour  persisted  in  accusing 
the  archduke  of  being  his  instigator.  But  neither  the  judges  who 
tried  nor  the  best  historians  who  record  his  intended  crime  g^ve 
any  belief  to  this  accusation.  The  mild  and  honorable  disposition 
of  the  prince  held  a  sufficient  guarantee  against  its  likelihood,  and 
it  is  not  less  pleasing  to  be  able  to  fully  join  in  the  prevalent  opinion 
than  to  mark  a  spirit  of  candor  and  impartiality  break  forth  through 
the  mass  of  bad  and  violent  passions  which  crowd  the  records  of 
that  age. 

But  all  the  esteem  inspired  by  the  personal  character  of  Ernest 
could  not  overcome  the  repugnance  of  the  United  Provinces  to 
trust  to  the  apparent  sincerity  of  the  tyrant  in  whose  name  he  made 
his  overtures  for  peace.  They  were  all  respectfully  and  firmly  re- 
jected, and  Prince  Maurice  in  the  meantime,  with  his  usual  activity, 
passed  the  Meuse  and  the  Rhine  and  invested  and  quickly  took  the 
town  of  Groningen,  by  which  he  consummated  the  establishment  of 


162  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1595-1596 

the  republic  and  secured  its  rank  among  the  principal  powers  of 
Europe.^ 

The  Archduke  Ernest,  finding  all  his  efforts  for  peace  frus- 
trated and  all  hopes  of  gaining  his  object  by  hostility  to  be  vain, 
became  a  prey  to  disappointment  and  regret,  and  died  from  the 
effects  of  a  slow  fever  on  February  21,  1595,  leaving  to  the  Count 
of  Fuentes  the  honors  and  anxieties  of  the  government,  subject  to 
the  ratification  of  the  king.  This  nobleman  began  the  exercise  of 
his  temporary  functions  by  an  irruption  into  France  at  the  head  of 
a  small  army,  war  having  been  declared  against  Spain  by  Henry  IV., 
who,  on  his  side,  had  dispatched  the  Admiral  de  Villars  to  attack 
Philip's  possessions  in  Hainault  and  Artois.  This  gallant  officer 
lost  a  battle  and  his  life  in  the  contest,  and  Fuentes,  encouraged  by 
the  victory,  took  some  frontier  towns  and  laid  siege  to  Cambray,  the 
object  of  his  plans.  The  citizens,  who  detested  their  governor,  the 
Marquis  of  Baligny,  who  had  for  some  time  assumed  an  independent 
tyranny  over  them,  gave  up  the  place  to  the  besiegers,  and  the  citadel 
surrendered  some  days  later.  After  this  exploit  Fuentes  returned 
to  Brussels,  where,  notwithstanding  his  success,  he  was  extremely 
unpopular.  He  had  placed  a  part  of  his  forces  under  the  command 
of  Mondragon,  one  of  the  oldest  and  cleverest  officers  in  the  service 
of  Spain.  Some  trifling  affairs  took  place  in  Brabant,  but  the 
arrival  of  the  Archduke  Albert,  whom  the  king  had  appointed  to 
succeed  his  brother  Ernest  in  the  office  of  governor-general,  deprived 
Fuentes  of  any  further  opportunity  of  signalizing  his  talents  for 
supreme  command.  Albert  arrived  at  Brussels  on  February  11, 
1596,  accompanied  by  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who,  when  Count  of 
Beuren,  had  been  carried  off  from  the  University  of  Louvain, 
twenty-eight  years  previously,  and  held  captive  in  Spain  during  the 
whole  of  that  period. 

The  Archduke  Albert,  fifth  son  of  the  Emperor  Maximilian  IL 
and  brother  of  Rudolf,  stood  high  in  the  opinion  of  Philip,  his 
uncle,  and  merited  his  reputation  for  talents,  bravery,  and  prudence. 
He  had  early  been  made  Archbishop  of  Toledo  and  afterward 
cardinal,  but  his  profession  was  not  that  of  these  nominal  dignities. 
He  was  a  warrior  and  politician  of  considerable  capacity,  and  had 
for  some  years  faithfully  served  the  king  as  viceroy  of  Portugal. 
But  Philip  meant  him  for  the  more  independent  situation  of  sov- 

1  In  May,  1596,  the  states  were  admitted  as  equals  into  a  triple  alliance 
with  France  and  England  against  Spain.  They  had  already  been  invited  by 
King  James  of  Scotland  to  stand  as  sponsors  to  his  heir,  Prince  Henry. 


PRINCE    MAURICE  168 

1590 

ereign  of  the  Netherlands,  and  at  the  same  time  destined  him  to  be 
the  husband  of  his  daughter  Isabella.  He  now  sent  him,  in  the 
capacity  of  governor-general,  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  important 
change,  at  once  to  gain  the  good  graces  of  the  people,  and  soothe, 
by  this  removal  from  Philip's  too  close  neighborhood,  the  jealousy 
of  his  son,  the  hereditary  prince  of  Spain.  Albert  brought  with  him 
to  Brussels  a  small  reinforcement  for  the  army,  with  a  large  supply 
of  money,  more  needed  at  this  conjuncture  than  men.  He  highly 
praised  the  conduct  of  Fuentes  in  the  operations  just  finished,  and 
resolved  to  continue  the  war  on  the  same  plan,  but  with  forces  much 
superior. 

He  opened  his  first  campaign  early,  and  by  a  display  of  clever 
maneuvering,  which  threatened  an  attempt  to  force  the  French  to 
raise  the  siege  of  La  Fere,  in  the  heart  of  Picardy,  he  concealed  his 
real  design — ^the  capture  of  Calais ;  and  he  succeeded  in  its  comple- 
tion almost  before  it  was  suspected.  The  Spanish  and  Walloon 
troops,  led  by  De  Roene,  a  distinguished  officer,  carried  the  first 
defenses.  After  nine  days  of  siege  the  place  was  forced  to  sur- 
render, and  in  a  few  more  the  citadel  followed  the  example.  The 
archduke  soon  after  took  the  towns  of  Ardres  and  Hulst,  and  by 
prudently  avoiding  a  battle,  to  which  he  was  constantly  provoked  by 
Henry  IV.,  who  commanded  the  French  army  in  person,  he  estab- 
lished his  character  for  military  talent  of  no  ordinary  degree. 

He  at  the  same  time  made  overtures  of  reconciliation  to  the 
United  Provinces,  and  hoped  that  the  return  of  the  Prince  of  Orange 
would  be  a  means  of  effecting  so  desirable  a  purpose.  But  the 
Dutch  were  not  to  be  deceived  by  the  apparent  sincerity  of  Spanish 
negotiation.  They  even  doubted  the  sentiments  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  whose  attachments  and  principles  had  been  formed  in  so 
hated  a  school,  and  nothing  passed  between  them  and  him  but 
mutual  civilities.  They  clearly  evinced  their  disapprobation  of  his 
intended  visit  to  Holland,  and  he  consequently  fixed  his  residence 
in  Brussels,  passing  his  life  in  an  inglorious  neutrality. 

A  naval  expedition  formed  in  this  year  by  the  English  and 
Dutch  against  Cadiz,  commanded  by  the  Earl  of  Essex  and  Counts 
Louis  and  William  of  Nassau,  cousins  of  Prince  Maurice,  was 
crowned  with  brilliant  success  and  somewhat  consoled  the  provinces 
for  the  contemporary  exploits  of  the  archduke.  But  the  following 
year  opened  with  an  affair  which  at  once  proved  his  unceasing 
activity  and  added  largely  to  the  reputation  of  his  rival,  Prince 


164  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1597-1598 

Maurice.  The  former  had  detached  the  Count  of  Varas,  with  about 
6000  men,  for  the  purpose  of  invading  the  province  of  Holland ;  but 
Maurice,  with  equal  energy  and  superior  talent,  followed  his  move- 
ments, came  up  with  him  near  Turnhout,  on  January  24,  1 597,  and 
after  a  sharp  action,  of  which  the  Dutch  cavalry  bore  the  whole 
brunt,  Varas  was  killed  and  his  troops  defeated  with  considera- 
ble loss. 

This  was  in  its  consequences  a  most  disastrous  affair  to  the 
archduke.  His  army  was  disorganized  and  his  finances  exhausted, 
while  the  confidence  of  the  states  in  their  troops  and  their  general 
was  considerably  raised.  But  the  taking  of  Amiens  by  Portocarrero, 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  the  Spanish  captains,  gave  a  new 
turn  to  the  failing  fortunes  of  Albert.  This  gallant  officer,  whose 
greatness  of  mind,  according  to  some  historians,  was  much  dispro- 
portioned  to  the  smallness  of  his  person,  gained  possession  of  that 
important  town  by  a  well-conducted  stratagem  and  maintained  his 
conquest  valiantly  till  he  was  killed  in  its  defense.  Henry  IV.  made 
prodigious  efforts  to  recover  the  place,  the  chief  bulwark  on  that  side 
of  France,  and  having  forced  Montenegro,  the  worthy  successor  of 
Portocarrero,  to  capitulate,  granted  him  and  his  garrison  most 
honorable  conditions.  Henry,  having  secured  Amiens  against  any 
new  attack,  returned  to  Paris  and  made  a  triumphal  entry  into 
the  city. 

During  this  year  Prince  Maurice  took  a  number  of  towns  in 
rapid  succession,  and  the  states,  according  to  their  custom,  caused 
various  medals,  in  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  to  be  struck  to  com- 
memorate the  victories  which  had  signalized  their  arms. 

Philip  n.,  feeling  himself  approaching  the  termination  of  his 
long  and  agitating  career,  now  wholly  occupied  himself  in  negotia- 
tions for  peace  with  France.  Henry  IV.  desired  it  as  anxiously. 
The  Pope,  Clement  VIII.,  encouraged  by  his  exhortations  this 
mutual  inclination.  The  King  of  Poland  sent  ambassadors  to  The 
Hague  and  to  London  to  induce  the  states  and  Queen  Elizabeth  to 
become  parties  in  a  general  pacification.  These  overtures  led  to  no 
conclusion,  but  the  conferences  between  France  and  Spain  went  on 
with  apparent  cordiality  and  great  promptitude,  and  a  peace  was 
concluded  between  these  powers  at  Vervins  on  May  2,  1598. 

Shortly  after  the  publication  of  this  treaty  another  important 
act  was  made  known  to  the  world,  by  which  Philip  ceded  to  Albert 
and  Isabella,  on  their  being  formally  affianced — a  ceremony  which 


PRINCE     MAURICE  165 

1598-1599 

now  took  place — the  sovereignty  of  Burgundy  and  the  Netherlands. 
This  act  bears  date  of  May  6,  and  was  proclaimed  with  all  the 
solemnity  due  to  so  important  a  transaction.  It  contained  thirteen 
articles,  and  was  based  on  the  misfortunes  which  the  absence  of 
the  sovereign  had  hitherto  caused  to  the  Low  Countries.  The 
Catholic  religion  was  declared  that  of  the  state,  in  its  full  integrity. 
The  provinces  were  guaranteed  against  dismemberment.  The  arch- 
dukes, by  which  title  the  joint  sovereigns  were  designated  without 
any  distinction  of  sex,  were  secured  in  the  possession,  with  right  of 
succession  to  their  children,  and  a  provision  was  added  that,  in 
default  of  posterity,  their  possessions  should  revert  to  the  Spanish 
crown.  The  Infanta  Isabella  soon  sent  her  procuration  to  the  arch- 
duke, her  affianced  husband,  giving  him  full  power  and  authority 
to  take  possession  of  the  ceded  dominions  in  her  name  as  in  his  own, 
and  Albert  was  inaugurated  with  great  pomp  at  Brussels  on  August 
22.  Having  put  everything  in  order  for  the  regulation  of  the  gov- 
ernment during  his  absence,  he  set  out  for  Italy  for  the  purpose  of 
accomplishing  his  espousals  and  bringing  back  his  bride  to  the  chief 
seat  of  their  joint  power.  But  before  his  departure  he  wrote  to  the 
various  states  of  the  republic,  and  to  Prince  Maurice  himself, 
strongly  recommending  submission  and  reconciliation.  These  letters 
received  no  answer,  a  new  plot  against  the  life  of  Prince  Maurice 
by  a  wretched  individual  named  Peter  Pann  having  aroused  the 
indignation  of  the  country  and  determined  it  to  treat  with  suspicion 
and  contempt  every  insidious  proposition  from  the  tyranny  it  defied. 

Albert  placed  his  uncle,  Cardinal  Andrew  of  Austria,  at  the 
head  of  the  temporary  government  and  set  out  on  his  journey, 
taking  the  little  town  of  Halle  in  his  route,  and  deposing  at  the  altar 
of  the  Virgin,  who  is  there  held  in  particular  honor,  his  cardinal's 
hat  as  a  token  of  his  veneration.  He  had  not  made  much  progress 
when  he  received  accounts  of  the  demise  of  Philip  II.,  who  died, 
after  long  suffering  and  with  great  resignation,  on  September  13, 
1598,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two.  Albert  was  several  months  on  his 
journey  through  Germany,  and  the  ceremonials  of  his  union  with  the 
Infanta  did  not  take  place  till  April  18,  1599,  when  it  was  finally 
solemnized  in  the  city  of  Valencia  in  Spain. 

By  this  transaction  the  Netherlands  were  positively  erected 
into  a  separate  sovereignty.  Indeed,  it  completely  decided  the 
division  between  the  northern  and  southern  provinces,  which, 
although  it  had  virtually  taken  place  long  previous  to  this  period, 


166  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1556-1S99 

could  scarcely  be  considered  as  formally  consummated  until  then. 
Here  then  we  shall  pause  anew  and  take  a  rapid  view  of  the  social 
state  of  the  Netherlands  during  the  last  half  century,  which  con- 
stitutes beyond  all  doubt  the  most  important  period  of  their  history, 
from  the  earliest  times  till  the  present. 

It  has  been  seen  that  when  Charles  V.  resigned  his  throne  and 
the  possession  of  his  vast  dominions  to  his  son,  arts,  commerce,  and 
manufactures  had  risen  to  a  state  of  considerable  perfection  through- 
out the  Netherlands.  The  revolution,  of  which  we  have  traced  the 
rise  and  progress,  naturally  produced  to  these  provinces  which 
relapsed  into  slavery  a  most  lamentable  change  in  every  branch  of 
industry,  and  struck  a  blow  at  the  general  prosperity,  the  effects 
of  which  are  felt  to  this  very  day.  Arts,  science,  and  literature 
were  sure  to  be  checked  and  withered  in  the  blaze  of  civil  war,  and 
we  have  now  to  mark  the  retrograde  movements  of  most  of  those 
charms  and  advantages  of  civilized  life  in  which  Flanders  and  the 
other  southern  states  were  so  rich. 

The  rapid  spread  of  liberalism  in  religious  subjects  soon  con- 
verted the  manufactories  and  workshops  of  Flanders  into  so  many 
conventicles  of  the  Reform,  and  the  clear-sighted  artisans  fled  in 
thousands  from  the  tyranny  of  Alva  into  England,  Germany,  and 
Holland.  Commerce  followed  the  fate  of  manufactures.  The 
foreign  merchants  one  by  one  abandoned  the  theater  of  bigotry  and 
persecution,  and  even  Antwerp,  which  had  succeeded  Bruges  as 
the  great  mart  of  European  traffic,  was  ruined  by  the  horrible 
excesses  of  the  Spanish  soldiery  and  never  recovered  from  the 
shock.  Its  trade,  its  wealth,  and  its  prosperity  were  gradually  trans- 
ferred to  Amsterdam,  Rotterdam,  and  the  towns  of  Holland  and 
Zealand,  and  the  growth  of  Dutch  commerce  attained  its  proud 
maturity  in  the  establishment  of  the  India  Company  in  1596,  the 
effects  of  which  we  shall  have  hereafter  more  particularly  to 
dwell  on. 

The  exciting  and  romantic  enterprises  of  the  Portuguese  and 
Spanish  navigators  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  roused 
all  the  ardor  of  other  nations  for  those  distant  adventures,  and  the 
people  of  the  Netherlands  were  early  influenced  by  the  general  spirit 
of  Europe.  If  they  were  not  the  discoverers  of  new  worlds,  they 
were  certainly  the  first  to  make  the  name  of  European  respected  and 
venerated  by  the  natives. 

Animated  by  the  ardor  which  springs  from  the  spirit  of  free- 


I 


PRINCE     MAURICE  167 

1556-1602 

dom  and  the  enthusiasm  of  success,  the  United  Provinces  labored 
for  the  discovery  of  new  outlets  for  their  commerce  and  navigation. 
The  government  encouraged  the  speculation  of  individuals,  which 
promised  fresh  and  fertile  sources  of  revenue,  so  necessary  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  war.  Until  the  year  1581  the  merchants  of  Hol- 
land and  Zealand  were  satisfied  to  find  the  productions  of  India  at 
Lisbon,  which  was  the  mart  of  that  branch  of  trade  from  the  time 
the  Portuguese  discovered  the  passage  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
But  Philip  II.,  having  conquered  Portugal,  excluded  the  United 
Provinces  from  the  ports  of  that  country,  and  their  enterprising 
mariners  were  from  that  time  driven  to  those  efforts  which  rapidly 
led  to  private  fortune  and  general  prosperity. 

The  year  1595  marks  the  expansion  of  Dutch  commerce  into 
the  East  Indies  and  the  beginning  of  the  great  colonial  empire  of 
the  Netherlands.  The  closing  of  the  Spanish  ports  to  Dutch  ships 
in  1586  drove  the  adventurous  merchants  of  Holland  and  Zealand 
far  afield  in  search  of  new  markets,  while  the  fame  of  the  English 
and  Portuguese  discoveries  roused  them  to  emulation.  In  1595 
one  Cornells  Houtman  and  others  formed  a  company  for  trade  with 
the  Indies.  An  expedition  sailed  from  the  Texel  in  April  and 
reached  the  Island  of  Java  in  June  of  the  following  year.  In  spite 
of  Portuguese  opposition  a  brisk  trade  was  established,  and  in  1597 
three  ships  returned  to  Holland  laden  with  spice.  Thenceforth  an 
ever-increasing  commerce  was  driven  with  the  Indies,  and  almost 
every  year  a  Dutch  fleet  sailed  for  the  far  East.  Nor  was  the 
activity  of  the  Dutch  sailors  confined  to  the  Indian  trade.  Incited 
by  offers  of  reward  from  the  states-general  for  the  discovery  of  a 
northern  passage  to  the  Indies,  numerous  expeditions  were  fitted 
out  for  Arctic  exploration.  In  one  of  these  adventurous  voyages 
Rijp  and  Heemskirk  discovered  Spitzbergen,  and  some  years  later  in 
a  similar  attempt  Henry  Hudson  discovered  the  bay  and  the  river 
in  America  which  bear  his  name. 

In  1602  the  famous  Dutch  East  India  Company,  the  source  of 
immense  wealth  to  Holland,  was  founded.  Since  1595  several  com- 
panies had  been  founded  in  the  Netherlands  for  trade  with  the 
Indies.  Treaties  had  been  made  with  the  rulers  of  Banda,  Ternate, 
and  Achin  in  Sumatra,  and  the  Dutch  captains  found  themselves 
able  to  compete  with  their  Spanish  and  Portuguese  rivals.  But 
the  several  companies  soon  saw  that  still  greater  prosperity  could  be 
gained  by  union,  and  the  states-general  authorized  the  formation 


168  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1556-1603 

of  a  single  East  India  Company,  with  exclusive  privileges  in  the 
Indies  for  twenty-one  years.  The  new  company  entered  on  a  career 
of  almost  uninterrupted  prosperity  and  power;  and  the  capture  of 
the  Portuguese  stronghold  of  Amboyna  in  India,  1603,  laid  the 
foundations  for  the  future  colonial  empire. 

The  United  Provinces  were  soon  without  any  rival  on  the  seas. 
In  Europe  alone  they  had  1200  merchant  ships  in  activity  and 
upward  of  70,000  sailors  constantly  employed.  They  built  annually 
2000  vessels.  In  the  year  1598  eighty  ships  sailed  from  their  ports 
for  the  Indies  or  America.  They  carried  on,  besides,  an  extensive 
trade  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  whence  they  brought  large  quantities 
of  gold  dust,  and  found,  in  short,  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe  the 
reward  of  their  skill,  industry,  and  courage. 

The  spirit  of  conquest  soon  became  grafted  on  the  habits  of 
trade.  Expedition  succeeded  to  expedition.  Failure  taught  wisdom 
to  those  who  did  not  want  bravery.  The  random  efforts  of  individ- 
uals were  succeeded  by  organized  plans,  under  associations  well 
constituted  and  wealthy,  and  these  soon  gave  birth  to  those  eastern 
and  western  companies  before  alluded  to.  The  disputes  between 
the  English  and  the  Hanseatic  towns  were  carefully  observed  by  the 
Dutch,  and  turned  to  their  own  advantage.  The  English  manufac- 
turers, who  quickly  began  to  flourish  from  the  influx  of  Flemish 
workmen  under  the  encouragement  of  Elizabeth,  formed  companies 
in  the  Netherlands  and  sent  their  cloths  into  those  very  towns  of 
Germany  which  formerly  possessed  the  exclusive  privilege  of  their 
manufacture.  These  towns  naturally  felt  dissatisfied,  and  their 
complaints  were  encouraged  by  the  King  of  Spain.  The  English 
adventurers  received  orders  to  quit  the  empire,  and,  invited  by  the 
states-general,  many  of  them  fixed  their  residence  in  Middelburg, 
which  became  the  most  celebrated  woolen  market  in  Europe. 

The  establishment  of  the  Jews  in  the  towns  of  the  republic 
forms  a  remarkable  epoch  in  the  annals  of  trade.  This  people,  so 
outraged  by  religious  persecution,  so  far  from  being  depressed, 
seemed  to  find  it  a  fresh  stimulus  to  the  exertion  of  their  industry. 
To  escape  death  in  Spain  and  Portugal  they  took  refuge  in  Holland, 
where  toleration  encouraged  and  just  principles  of  state  maintained 
them.  They  were  at  first  taken  for  Catholics,  and  subjected  to  sus- 
picion, but  when  their  real  faith  was  understood  they  were  no  longer 
molested. 

Astronomy  and  geography,  two  sciences  so  closely  allied  with 


PRINCE    MAURICE  169 

1556-1603 

and  so  essential  to  navigation,  flourished  now  throughout  Europe. 
Ortelius  of  Antwerp  and  Gerard  Mercator  of  Rupelmonde  were  two 
of  the  greatest  geographers  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  reform 
in  the  calendar  at  the  end  of  that  period  gave  stability  to  the  calcu- 
lations of  time,  which  had  previously  suffered  all  the  inconvenient 
fluctuations  attendant  on  the  old  style. 

Literature  had  assumed  during  the  revolution  in  the  Nether- 
lands the  almost  exclusive  aspect  of  controversial  learning.  The 
University  of  Douay,  founded  in  1562  by  Philip  II.,  quickly  became 
a  stronghold  of  the  Catholic  religion.  That  of  Leyden,  established 
by  the  efforts  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  soon  after  the  famous  siege 
of  that  town  in  1574,  was  on  a  less  exclusive  plan — its  professors 
being  in  the  first  instance  drawn  from  Germany.  Many  Flemish 
historians  succeeded  in  this  century  to  the  ancient  and  uncultivated 
chroniclers  of  preceding  times,  the  civil  wars  drawing  forth  many 
writers,  who  recorded  what  they  witnessed,  but  often  in  a  spirit  of 
partisanship  and  want  of  candor  which  seriously  embarrasses  him 
who  desires  to  learn  the  truth  on  both  sides  of  an  important  ques- 
tion. Poetry  declined  and  drooped  in  these  times  of  tumult  and 
suffering,  and  the  chambers  of  rhetoric,  to  which  its  cultivation  had 
been  chiefly  due,  gradually  lost  their  influence  and  finally  ceased  to 
exist. 

In  fixing  our  attention  on  the  republic  of  the  United  Provinces 
during  the  epoch  now  completed  we  feel  the  desire  and  lament  the 
impossibility  of  entering  on  the  details  of  government  in  that  most 
remarkable  state.  For  these  we  must  refer  to  what  appears  to  us 
the  best  authority  for  clear  and  ample  information  on  the  preroga- 
tive of  the  stadtholder,  the  constitution  of  the  states-general,  the 
privileges  of  the  tribunals  and  local  assemblies,  and  other  points  of 
moment  concerning  the  principles  of  the  Belgic  confederation.^ 

2  Blok,  "  History  of  the  Dutch  People,"  vol.  iil  ch.  xiii 


Chapter   XV 

PRINCE   MAURICE  AND   SPINOLA.     1599-1605 

PREVIOUS  to  his  departure  for  Spain  the  Archduke  Albert 
had  placed  the  government  of  the  provinces  which  acknowl- 
edged his  domination  in  the  hands  of  his  uncle,  the  Cardinal 
Andrew  of  Austria,  leaving  in  command  of  the  army  Francisco 
Mendoza,  Admiral  of  Aragon.  The  troops  at  his  disposal  amounted 
to  22,000  fighting  men,  a  formidable  force,  and  enough  to  justify 
the  serious  apprehensions  of  the  republic.  Albert,  whose  finances 
were  exhausted  by  payments  made  to  the  numerous  Spanish  and 
Italian  mutineers,  had  left  orders  with  Mendoza  to  secure  some 
place  on  the  Rhine  which  might  open  a  passage  for  free  quarters 
in  the  enemy's  country.  But  this  unprincipled  officer  forced  his 
way  into  the  neutral  districts  of  Cleves  and  Westphalia,  and  with  a 
body  of  executioners  ready  to  hang  up  all  who  might  resist,  and  of 
priests  to  prepare  them  for  death,  he  carried  such  terror  on  his  march 
that  no  opposition  was  ventured.  The  atrocious  cruelties  of  Men- 
doza and  his  troops  baffle  all  description.  On  one  occasion  they 
murdered  in  cold  blood  the  Count  of  Walkenstein.  who  surrendered 
his  castle  on  the  express  condition  of  his  freedom,  and  they  com- 
mitted every  possible  excess  that  may  be  imagined  of  ferocious  sol- 
diery encouraged  by  a  base  commander. 

Prince  Maurice  soon  put  into  motion,  to  oppose  this  army  of 
brigands,  his  small  disposable  force  of  about  7000  men.  With 
these,  however,  and  a  succession  of  masterly  maneuvers,  he  con- 
trived to  preserve  the  republic  from  invasion  and  to  paralyze  and 
almost  destroy  an  army  three  times  superior  in  numbers  to  his  own. 
The  horrors  committed  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  midst  of  peace  and 
without  the  slightest  provocation  could  not  fail  to  excite  the  utmost 
indignation  in  a  country  so  fond  of  liberty  and  so  proud  as  Ger- 
many. The  duchy  of  Cleves  felt  particularly  aggrieved,  and 
Sybilla,  the  sister  of  the  duke,  a  real  heroine  in  a  glorious  cause,  so 
worked  on  the  excited  passions  of  the  people  by  her  eloquence  and 

ITO 


I 


MAURICE     AND     SPINOLA  171 

1599 

her  tears  that  she  persuaded  all  the  orders  of  the  state  to  unite 
against  the  odious  enemy.  A  diet  of  princes  sitting  at  Coblenz 
determined  to  raise  troops  for  the  protection  of  the  Rhine  Circle. 
The  Count  of  Lippe  was  chosen  general  of  their  united  forces,  and 
the  choice  could  not  have  fallen  on  one  more  certainly  incapable  or 
more  probably  treacherous. 

The  German  army,  with  its  usual  want  of  activity,  did  not 
open  the  campaign  till  the  month  of  June.  It  consisted  of  14,000 
men,  and  never  was  an  army  so  badly  conducted.  Without  money, 
artillery,  provisions,  or  discipline,  it  was  at  any  moment  ready  to 
break  up  and  abandon  its  incompetent  general.  On  the  very  first 
encounter  with  the  enemy,  and  after  a  loss  of  a  couple  of  hundred 
men,  it  became  self-disbanded,  and,  flying  in  every  direction,  not  a 
single  man  could  be  rallied  to  clear  away  this  disgrace. 

The  states-general,  cruelly  disappointed  at  this  result  of  meas- 
ures from  which  they  had  looked  for  so  important  a  diversion  in 
their  favor,  now  resolved  on  a  vigorous  exertion  of  their  own  ener- 
gies, and  determined  to  undertake  a  naval  expedition  of  a  magnitude 
greater  than  any  they  had  hitherto  attempted.  The  force  of  public 
opinion  was  at  this  period  more  powerful  than  it  had  ever  yet  been 
in  the  United  Provinces,  for  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
during  the  life  of  Philip  II.  conscientiously  believed  that  they  could 
not  lawfully  abjure  the  authority  once  recognized  and  sworn  to, 
became  now  liberated  from  those  respectable  although  absurd  scru- 
ples, and  the  death  of  one  unfeeling  despot  gave  thousands  of  new 
citizens  to  the  state. 

A  fleet  of  seventy-three  vessels,  carrying  8000  men,  was  soon 
equipped,  under  the  order  of  Admiral  Van  der  Does,  and  after  a 
series  of  attempts  on  the  coasts  of  Spain,  Portugal,  Africa,  and  the 
Canary  Isles,  this  expedition,  from  which  the  most  splendid  results 
were  expected,  was  shattered,  dispersed,  and  reduced  to  nothing  by 
a  succession  of  unheard-of  mishaps. 

To  these  disappointments  were  now  added  domestic  dissensions 
in  the  republic  in  consequence  of  the  new  taxes  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  exigencies  of  the  state.  The.  conduct  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
greatly  added  to  the  general  embarrassment.  She  called  for  the 
payment  of  her  former  loans,  insisted  on  the  recall  of  the  English 
troops,  and  declared  her  resolution  to  make  peace  with  Spain.  Sev- 
eral German  princes  promised  aid  in  men  and  money,  but  never 
furnished  either,  and  in  this  most  critical  juncture  Henry  IV.  was 


172  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

15»9 

the  only  foreign  sovereign  who  did  not  abandon  the  republic.  He 
sent  them  looo  Swiss  troops  whom  he  had  in  his  pay,  allowed  them 
to  levy  3000  more  in  France,  and  gave  them  a  loan  of  200,000 
crowns — a  very  convenient  supply  in  their  exhausted  state. 

The  Archdukes  Albert  and  Isabella  arrived  in  the  Netherlands 
in  September,  1599,  and  made  their  entrance  into  Brussels  with 
unexampled  magnificence.  They  soon  found  themselves  in  a  situa- 
tion quite  as  critical  as  was  that  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  both 
parties  displayed  immense  energy  to  remedy  their  mutual  embar- 
rassments. The  winter  was  extremely  rigorous,  so  much  so  as  to 
allow  of  military  operations  being  undertaken  on  the  ice.  Prince 
Maurice  soon  commenced  a  Christmas  campaign  by  taking  the  town 
of  Wachtendenck,  and  he  followed  up  his  success  by  obtaining  pos- 
session of  the  important  forts  of  Crevecoeur  and  St.  Andrew  in  the 
Island  of  Bommel.  A  most  dangerous  mutiny  at  the  same  time 
broke  out  in  the  army  of  the  archdukes,  and  Albert  seemed  left 
without  troops  or  money  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  sovereignty. 

But  these  successes  of  Prince  Maurice  were  only  the  prelude 
to  an  expedition  of  infinitely  more  moment,  arranged  with  the 
utmost  secrecy,  and  executed  with  an  energy  scarcely  to  be  looked 
for  from  the  situation  of  the  states.  This  was  nothing  less  than  an 
invasion  poured  into  the  very  heart  of  Flanders,  thus  putting  the 
archdukes  on  the  defense  of  their  own  and  most  vital  possessions 
and  changing  completely  the  whole  character  of  the  war.  The  whole 
disposable  troops  of  the  republic,  amounting  to  about  17,000  men, 
were  secretly  assembled  in  the  Island  of  Walcheren,  in  the  month 
of  June ;  and  setting  sail  for  Flanders,  they  disembarked  near  Ghent 
and  arrived  on  the  20th  of  that  month  under  the  walls  of  Bruges. 
Some  previous  negotiations  with  that  town  had  led  the  prince  to 
expect  that  it  would  have  opened  its  gates  at  his  approach.  In  this 
he  was,  however,  disappointed,  and  after  taking  possession  of  some 
forts  in  the  neighborhood  he  continued  his  march  to  Nieuport, 
which  place  he  invested  on  July  i. 

At  the  news  of  this  invasion  the  archdukes,  though  taken  by 
surprise,  displayed  a  promptness  and  decision  that  proved  them 
worthy  of  the  sovereignty  which  seemed  at  stake.  With  incredible 
activity  they  mustered  in  a  few  days  an  army  of  12,000  men,  which 
they  passed  in  review  near  Ghent.  On  this  occasion  Isabella,  prov- 
ing her  title  to  a  place  among  those  heroic  women  with  whom  the  age 
abounded,  rode  through  the  royalist  ranks  and  harangued  them  in  a 


MAURICE     AND     SPINOLA  173' 

1600 

style  of  inspiring  eloquence  that  inflamed  their  courage  and  se- 
cured their  fidehty.  Albert,  seizing  the  moment  of  this  excitement, 
put  himself  at  their  head  and  marched  to  seek  the  enemy,  leav- 
ing his  intrepid  wife  at  Bruges,  the  nearest  town  to  the  scene  of  the 
action  he  was  resolved  on.  He  gained  possession  of  all  the  forts 
taken  and  garrisoned  by  Maurice  a  few  days  before,  and,  pushing 
forward  with  his  apparently  irresistible  troops,  he  came  up  on  the 
morning  of  July  i  with  a  large  body  of  those  of  the  states,  consist- 
ing of  about  3000  men,  sent  forward  under  the  command  of  Count 
Ernest  of  Nassau  to  reconnoiter  and  judge  of  the  extent  of  this 
most  unexpected  movement.  Prince  Maurice  was,  in  his  turn,  com- 
pletely surprised,  and  not  merely  by  one  of  those  maneuvers  of  war 
by  which  the  best  generals  are  sometimes  deceived,  but  by  an  exer- 
tion of  political  vigor  and  capacity  of  which  history  offers  few  more 
striking  examples.  Such  a  circumstance,  however,  served  only  to 
draw  forth  a  fresh  display  of  those  uncommon  talents  which  in  so 
many  various  accidents  of  war  had  placed  Maurice  in  the  highest 
rank  for  military  talent.  The  detachment  under  Count  Ernest  of 
Nassau  was  chiefly  composed  of  Scottish  infantry,  and  this  small 
force  stood  firmly  opposed  to  the  impetuous  attack  of  the  whole 
royalist  army — thus  giving  time  to  the  main  body  under  the  prince 
to  take  up  a  position  and  form  in  order  of  battle.  Count  Ernest 
was  at  length  driven  back,  with  the  loss  of  800  men  killed,  almost 
all  Scottish,  and,  being  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  army,  was  forced 
to  take  refuge  in  Ostend,  which  town  was  in  possession  of  the  troops 
of  the  states. 

The  army  of  Albert  now  marched  on,  flushed  with  this  first 
success  and  confident  of  final  victory.  Prince  Maurice  received  them 
with  the  courage  of  a  gallant  soldier  and  the  precaution  of  a  con- 
summate general.  He  had  caused  the  fleet  of  ships  of  war  and  trans- 
ports which  had  sailed  along  the  coast  from  Zealand  and  landed 
supplies  of  ammunition  and  provisions,  to  retire  far  from  the  shore, 
so  as  to  leave  to  his  army  no  chance  of  escape  but  in  victory.  The 
commissioners  from  the  states,  who  always  accompanied  the  prince 
as  a  council  of  observation  rather  than  of  war,  had  retired  to  Ostend 
in  great  consternation,  to  wait  the  issue  of  the  battle  which  now 
seemed  inevitable.  A  scene  of  deep  feeling  and  heroism  was  the 
next  episode  of  this  memorable  day,  and  throws  the  charm  of  natural 
affection  over  those  circumstances  in  which  glory  too  seldom  leaves 
a  place  for  the  softer  emotions  of  the  heart.    When  the  patriot  army 


174  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

was  in  its  position  and  firmly  awaiting  the  advance  of  the  foe,  Prince 
Maurice  turned  to  his  brother,  Frederick  Henry,  then  sixteen  years 
of  age,  and  several  young  noblemen,  English,  French,  and  German, 
who,  like  him,  attended  on  the  great  captain  to  learn  the  art  of  war ; 
he  pointed  out  in  a  few  words  the  perilous  situation  in  which  he  was 
placed,  declared  his  resolution  to  conquer  or  perish  on  the  battle- 
field, and  recommended  the  boyish  band  to  retire  to  Ostend  and  wait 
for  some  less  desperate  occasion  to  share  his  renown  or  revenge  his 
fall.  Frederick  Henry  spurned  the  affectionate  suggestion,  and 
swore  to  stand  by  his  brother  to  the  last ;  and  all  his  young  compan- 
ions adopted  the  same  generous  resolution. 

The  army  of  the  states  was  placed  in  order  of  battle,  about  a 
league  in  front  of  Nieuport,  in  the  sand-hills  with  which  the  neigh- 
borhood abounds,  its  left  wing  resting  on  the  seashore.  Its  losses 
of  the  previous  day  and  of  the  garrison  left  in  the  forts  near  Bruges 
reduced  it  to  an  almost  exact  equality  with  that  of  the  archduke. 
Each  of  these  armies  was  composed  of  that  variety  of  troops 
which  made  them  respectively  an  epitome  of  the  various  nations  of 
Europe. 

The  patriot  force  contained  Dutch,  English,  French,  German, 
and  Swiss,  under  the  orders  of  Count  Louis  of  Nassau,  Sir  Francis 
and  Sir  Horace  Vere,  brothers  and  English  officers  of  great  celeb- 
rity, with  other  distinguished  captains.  The  archduke  mustered 
Spaniards,  Italians,  Walloons,  and  Irish  in  his  ranks,  led  on  by 
Mendoza,  La  Berlotta,  and  their  fellow-veterans.  Both  armies 
were  in  the  highest  state  of  discipline,  trained  to  war  by  long  serv- 
ice, and  enthusiastic  in  the  several  causes  which  they  served,  the 
two  highest  principles  of  enthusiasm  urging  them  on — religious 
fanaticism  on  the  one  hand  and  the  love  of  freedom  on  the  other. 
The  rival  generals  rode  along  their  respective  lines,  addressed  a 
few  brief  sentences  of  encouragement  to  their  men,  and  presently 
the  bloody  contest  began. 

It  was  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  the  archduke  com- 
menced the  attack.  His  advanced  guard,  commanded  by  Mendoza 
and  composed  of  those  former  mutineers  who  now  resolved  to  atone 
for  their  misconduct,  marched  across  the  sand-hills  with  desperate 
resolution.  They  soon  came  in  contact  with  the  English  contingent 
under  Francis  Vere,  who  was  desperately  wounded  in  the  shock. 
The  assault  was  almost  irresistible.  The  English,  borne  down  by 
numbers,  were  forced  to  give  way,  but  the  main  body  pressed  on  to 


MAURICE     AND     SPINOLA  176 

1600 

their  support.  Horace  Vere  stepped  forward  to  supply  his  brother's 
place.  Not  an  inch  of  ground  more  was  gained  or  lost ;  the  firing 
ceased  and  pikes  and  swords  crossed  each  other  in  the  resolute  con- 
flict of  man  to  man.  The  action  became  general  along  the  whole 
line.  The  two  commanders-in-chief  were  at  all  points.  Nothing 
could  exceed  their  mutual  display  of  skill  and  courage.  At  length 
the  Spanish  cavalry,  broken  by  the  well-directed  fire  of  the  patriot 
artillery,  fell  back  on  their  infantry  and  threw  it  into  confusion. 
The  archduke  at  the  same  instant  was  wounded  by  a  lance  in  the 
cheek,  unhorsed,  and  forced  to  quit  the  field.  The  report  of  his 
death  and  the  sight  of  his  war-steed  galloping  alone  across  the  field 
spread  alarm  through  the  royalist  ranks.  Prince  Maurice  saw  and 
seized  on  the  critical  moment.  He  who  had  so  patiently  maintained 
his  position  for  three  hours  of  desperate  conflict  now  knew  the  crisis 
for  a  prompt  and  general  advance.  He  gave  the  word  and  led  on  to 
the  charge,  and  the  victory  was  at  once  his  own. 

The  defeat  of  the  royalist  army  was  complete.  The  whole  of 
the  artillery,  baggage,  standards,  and  ammunition  fell  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  conquerors.  Night  coming  on  saved  those  who  fled, 
and  the  nature  of  the  ground  prevented  the  cavalry  from  consum- 
mating the  destruction  of  the  whole.  As  far  as  the  conflicting 
accounts  of  the  various  historians  may  be  compared  and  calculated 
on,  the  royalists  had  3000  killed,  and  among  them  several  officers  of 
rank,  while  the  patriot  army,  including  those  who  fell  on  the  previous 
day,  lost  about  the  same  number.  The  archduke,  furnished  with  a 
fresh  horse,  gained  Bruges  in  safety,  but  he  waited  there  only  long 
enough  to  join  his  heroic  wife,  with  whom  he  proceeded  rapidly  to 
Ghent,  and  thence  to  Brussels.  Mendoza  was  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner,  and  with  difficulty  saved  by  Prince  Maurice  from  the  fury 
of  the  German  auxiliaries. 

The  moral  effects  produced  by  this  victory  on  the  vanquishers 
and  vanquished,  and  on  the  state  of  public  opinion  throughout 
Europe,  was  immense,  but  its  immediate  consequences  were  incredi- 
bly trifling.  Not  one  result  in  a  military  point  of  view  followed  an 
event  which  appeared  almost  decisive  of  the  war.  Nieuport  was 
again  invested  three  days  after  the  battle,  but  a  strong  reinforcement 
entered  the  place  and  saved  it  from  all  danger,  and  Maurice  found 
himself  forced  for  want  of  supplies  to  abandon  the  scene  of  his 
greatest  exploit.  He  returned  to  Holland,  welcomed  by  the  accla- 
mations of  his  grateful  country,  and  exciting  the  jealousy  and  hatred 


176  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1601 

of  all  who  envied  his  glory  or  feared  his  power.  Among  the  sincere 
and  conscientious  republicans  who  saw  danger  to  the  public  liberty 
in  the  growing  influence  of  a  successful  soldier,  placed  at  the  head 
of  affairs  and  endeared  to  the  people  by  every  hereditary  and  per- 
sonal claim,  was  Olden  Barneveldt,  the  pensionary;  and  from  this 
period  may  be  traced  the  growth  of  the  mutual  antipathy  which  led 
to  the  sacrifice  of  the  most  virtuous  statesman  of  Holland  and  the 
eternal  disgrace  of  its  hitherto  heroic  chief. 

The  states  of  the  Catholic  provinces  assembled  at  Brussels  now 
gave  the  archdukes  to  understand  that  nothing  but  peace  could 
satisfy  their  wishes  or  save  the  country  from  exhaustion  and  ruin. 
Albert  saw  the  reasonableness  of  their  remonstrances  and  attempted 
to  carry  the  great  object  into  effect.  The  states-general  listened  to 
his  proposals.  Commissioners  were  appointed  on  both  sides  to  treat 
of  terms.  They  met  at  Bergen-op-Zoom,  but  their  conferences  were 
broken  up  almost  as  soon  as  commenced.  The  deputies  of  the 
states-general  proposed  that  the  Belgians  should  unite  with  them. 
This  they  refused  to  do,  and,  as  the  Netherlands  were  equally  firm 
in  refusing  to  recognize  the  archdukes,  the  negotiations  went  no 
further.  Preparations  for  hostilities  were  therefore  commenced  on 
both  sides,  and  the  whole  of  the  winter  was  thus  employed. 

Early  in  the  spring  Prince  Maurice  opened  the  campaign  at 
the  head  of  16,000  men,  chiefly  composed  of  English  and  French, 
who  seemed  throughout  the  contest  to  forget  their  national  animos- 
ities and  to  know  no  rivalry  but  that  of  emulation  in  the  cause  of 
liberty.  The  town  of  Rheinberg  soon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
prince.  His  next  attempt  was  against  Bois-le-duc,  and  the  siege 
of  this  place  was  signalized  by  an  event  that  flavored  of  the  chivalric 
contests  characteristic  of  the  times.  A  Norman  gentleman  of  the 
name  of  Breaute,  in  the  service  of  Prince  Maurice,  challenged  the 
royalist  garrison  to  meet  him  and  twenty  of  his  comrades  in  arms 
under  the  walls  of  the  place.  The  cartel  was  accepted  by  a  Fleming 
named  Abramzoom,  but  better  known  by  the  epithet  Leckerheetje 
(savory  bit),  who,  with  twenty  more,  met  Breaute  and  his  friends. 
The  combat  was  desperate.  The  Flemish  champion  was  killed  at 
the  first  shock  by  his  Norman  challenger,  but  the  latter  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy,  they  treacherously  and  cruelly  put  him  to 
death,  in  violation  of  the  strict  conditions  of  the  fight.  Prince 
Maurice  was  forced  to  raise  the  siege  of  Bois-le-duc  and  turn  his 
attention  in  another  direction. 


MAURICE     AND     SPINOLA  177 

1601-1604 

The  Archduke  Albert  had  now  resolved  to  invest  Ostend,  a 
place  of  great  importance  to  the  United  Provinces,  but  little  worth 
to  either  party  in  comparison  with  the  dreadful  waste  of  treasure 
and  human  life  which  was  the  consequence  of  its  memorable  siege. 
Sir  Francis  Vere  commanded  in  the  place  at  the  period  of  its  final 
investment,  but  governors,  garrisons,  and  besieging  forces  were 
renewed  and  replaced  with  a  rapidity  which  gives  one  of  the  most 
frightful  instances  of  the  ravages  of  war.  The  siege  of  Ostend 
lasted  upwards  of  three  years.  It  became  a  school  for  the  young 
nobility  of  all  Europe,  who  repaired  to  either  one  or  the  other  party 
to  learn  the  principles  and  the  practice  of  attack  and  defense.  Every- 
thing that  the  art  of  strategy  could  devise  was  resorted  to  on  either 
side.  The  slaughter  in  the  various  assaults,  sorties,  and  bombard- 
ments was  enormous.  Squadrons  at  sea  gave  a  double  interest  to 
the  land  operations,  and  the  celebrated  brothers,  Frederick  and 
Ambrose  Spinola,  founded  their  reputation  on  these  opposing  ele- 
ments. Frederick  was  killed  in  one  of  the  naval  combats  with  the 
Dutch  galleys,  and  the  fame  of  reducing  Ostend  was  reserved  for 
Ambrose.  This  afterward  celebrated  general  had  undertaken  the 
command  at  the  earnest  entreaties  of  the  archduke  and  the  King  of 
Spain,  and  by  the  firmness  and  vigor  of  his  measures  he  revived  the 
courage  of  the  worn-out  assailants  of  the  place.  Redoubled  attacks 
and  multiplied  mines  at  length  reduced  the  town  to  a  mere  mass  of 
ruin,  and  scarcely  left  its  still  undaunted  garrison  sufficient  footing 
on  which  to  prolong  their  desperate  defense.  Ostend  at  length  sur- 
rendered, on  September  22,  1604,  and  the  victors  marched  in  over 
its  crumbled  walls  and  shattered  batteries.  Scarcely  a  vestige  of 
the  place  remained  beyond  those  terrible  evidences  of  destruction. 
Its  ditches,  filled  with  the  rubbish  of  ramparts,  bastions,  and  re- 
doubts, left  no  distinct  line  of  separation  between  the  operations  of 
its  attack  and  its  defense.  It  resembled  rather  a  vast  sepulcher  than 
a  ruined  town,  a  mountain  of  earth  and  rubbish,  without  a  single 
house  in  which  the  wretched  remnant  of  the  inhabitants  could  hide 
their  heads — a  monument  of  desolation  on  which  victory  might  have 
sat  and  wept. 

During  the  progress  of  this  memorable  siege  Queen  Elizabeth 
of  England  had  died,  after  a  long  and,  it  must  be  pronounced,  a 
glorious  reign,  though  the  glory  belongs  rather  to  the  nation  than 
to  the  monarch,  whose  memory  is  marked  with  indelible  stains  of 
private  cruelty,  as  in  the  cases  of  Essex  and  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 


178  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1W4 

and  of  public  wrongs,  as  in  that  of  her  whole  system  of  tyranny  in 
Ireland.  With  respect  to  the  United  Provinces  she  was  a  harsh 
protectress  and  a  capricious  ally.  She  in  turns  advised  them  to 
remain  faithful  to  the  established  forms  in  religion  and  to  their  in- 
tolerable king,  refused  to  incorporate  them  with  her  own  states,  and 
then  used  her  best  efforts  for  subjecting  them  to  her  sway.  She 
seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  the  uncertainty  to  which  she  reduced 
them  by  constant  demands  for  payment  of  her  loans  and  threats  of 
making  peace  with  Spain.  Thus  the  states-general  were  not  much 
affected  by  the  news  of  her  death ;  and  so  rejoiced  were  they  at  the 
accession  of  James  I.  to  the  throne  of  England  that  all  the  bells  of 
Holland  rang  out  merry  peals,  bonfires  were  set  blazing  all  over  the 
country,  a  letter  of  congratulation  was  dispatched  to  the  new  mon- 
arch, and  it  was  speedily  followed  by  a  solemn  embassy,  composed 
of  Prince  Frederick  Henry,  the  grand  pensionary  Barneveldt,  and 
others  of  the  first  dignitaries  of  the  republic.  These  ambassadors 
were  grievously  disappointed  at  the  reception  given  to  them  by 
James,  who  treated  them  as  little  better  than  rebels  to  their  lawful 
king.  But  this  first  disposition  to  contempt  and  insult  was  soon 
overcome  by  the  united  talents  of  Barneveldt  and  the  great  Duke  of 
Sully,  who  was  at  the  same  period  ambassador  from  France  at  the 
English  court.  The  result  of  the  negotiations  was  an  agreement 
between  these  two  powers  to  take  the  republic  under  their  protection 
and  use  their  best  efforts  for  obtaining  the  recognition  of  its  inde- 
pendence by  Spain. 

The  states-general  considered  themselves  amply  recc«npensed 
for  the  loss  of  Ostend  by  the  taking  of  Sluis,  Rheinberg,  and  Grave, 
all  of  which  had  in  the  interval  surrendered  to  Prince  Maurice;  but 
they  were  seriously  alarmed  on  finding  themselves  abandoned  by 
King  James,  who  concluded  a  separate  peace  with  Philip  III.  of 
Spain  in  the  month  of  August  this  year. 

The  two  monarchs  stipulated  in  the  treaty  that  neither  was 
to  give  support  of  any  kind  to  the  revolted  subjects  of  the  other. 
It  is  nevertheless  true  that  James  did  not  withdraw  his  troops  from 
the  service  of  the  states,  but  he  authorized  the  Spaniards  to  levy 
soldiers  in  England.  He  refused  to  give  up  the  cautionary  towns 
to  Spain,  but  he  promised  that  no  aid  should  be  given  to  the  Nether- 
lands through  them.  The  news  of  the  treaty  was  received  with 
mingled  consternation  and  indignation  by  the  provinces,  and  Barne- 
veldt despaired  of  ultimate  success  without  the  aid  of  England.    In 


MAURICE     AND     SPINOLA  179 

1604 

their  first  burst  of  indignation  the  states-general  ordered  the  closing 
of  the  Scheldt  to  the  English.  They  even  arrested  the  progress  of 
several  of  their  merchant  ships.  But  soon  after,  gratified  at  finding 
that  James  received  their  deputy  with  the  title  of  ambassador,  they 
resolved  to  dissimulate  their  resentment. 

Prince  Maurice  and  Spinola  now  took  the  field  with  their 
respective  armies,  and  a  rapid  series  of  operations  placing  them  in 
direct  contact,  displayed  their  talents  in  the  most  striking  points  of 
view.  The  first  steps  on  the  part  of  the  prince  were  a  new  invasion 
of  Flanders  and  an  attempt  on  Antwerp,  which  he  hoped  to  carry 
before  the  Spanish  army  could  arrive  to  its  succor.  But  the  prompti- 
tude and  sagacity  of  Spinola  defeated  this  plan,  which  Maurice  was 
obliged  to  abandon  after  some  loss,  while  the  royalist  general  re- 
solved to  signalize  himself  by  some  important  movement,  and,  ere 
his  design  was  suspected,  he  had  penetrated  into  the  province  of 
Overyssel,  and  thus  retorted  his  rival's  favorite  measure  of  carrying 
the  war  into  the  enemy's  country.  Several  towns  were  rapidly 
reduced,  but  Maurice  flew  toward  the  threatened  provinces  and  by 
his  active  measures  forced  Spinola  to  fall  back  on  the  Rhine  and 
take  up  a  position  near  Ruhrart,  where  he  was  impetuously  at- 
tacked by  the  Dutch  army.  But  the  cavalry  having  followed  up 
too  slowly  the  orders  of  Maurice,  his  hopes  of  surprising  the  royal- 
ists were  frustrated,  and  the  Spanish  forces,  gaining  time  by  this 
hesitation,  soon  changed  the  fortune  of  the  day.  The  Dutch  cavalry 
shamefully  took  to  flight,  despite  the  gallant  endeavors  of  both 
Maurice  and  his  brother,  Frederick  Henry,  and  at  this  juncture  a 
large  reinforcement  of  Spaniards  arrived  under  the  command  of 
Velasco.  Maurice  now  brought  forward  some  companies  of  Eng- 
lish and  French  infantry  under  Horatio  Vere  and  D'Omerville,  also 
a  distinguished  officer.  The  battle  was  again  fiercely  renewed,  and 
the  Spaniards  now  gave  way,  and  would  have  been  completely  de- 
feated had  not  Spinola  put  in  practice  an  old  and  generally  successful 
stratagem.  He  caused  almost  all  the  drums  of  his  army  to  beat  in  one 
direction,  so  as  to  give  the  impression  that  a  still  larger  reinforce- 
ment was  approaching.  Maurice,  apprehensive  that  the  former 
panic  might  find  a  parallel  in  a  fresh  one,  prudently  ordered  a  re- 
treat, which  he  was  able  to  effect  in  good  order,  in  preference  to 
risking  the  total  disorganization  of  his  troops.  The  loss  on  each 
side  was  nearly  the  same,  but  the  glory  of  this  hard-fought  day 
remained  on  the  side  of  Spinola,  who  proved  himself  a  worthy  sue- 


180  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1604-1603 

cesser  of  the  great  Duke  of  Parma,  and  an  antagonist  with  whom 
Maurice  might  contend  without  dishonor. 

The  naval  transactions  of  this  year  restored  the  balance  which 
Spinola's  successes  had  begun  to  turn  in  favor  of  the  royaHst  cause. 
A  squadron  of  ships,  commanded  by  Haultain,  Admiral  of  Zealand, 
attacked  a  superior  force  of  Spanish  vessels  close  to  Dover  and  de- 
feated them,  with  considerable  loss.  But  the  victory  was  sullied 
by  an  act  of  great  barbarity.  All  the  soldiers  found  on  board  the 
captured  ships  were  tied  two  and  two  and  mercilessly  flung  into  the 
sea.  Some  contrived  to  extricate  themselves  and  gained  the  shore 
by  swimming;  others  were  picked  up  by  the  English  boats,  whose 
crews  witnessed  the  scene  and  hastened  to  their  relief.  The  gener- 
ous British  seamen  could  not  remain  neutral  in  such  a  moment,  nor 
repress  their  indignation  against  those  whom  they  had  hitherto  so 
long  considered  as  friends.  The  Dutch  vessels  pursuing  those  of 
Spain  which  fled  into  Dover  harbor  were  fired  on  by  the  cannon  of 
the  castle  and  forced  to  give  up  the  chase.  The  English  loudly  com- 
plained that  the  Dutch  had  on  this  occasion  violated  their  territory, 
and  this  transaction  laid  the  foundation  of  the  quarrel  which  subse- 
quently broke  out  between  England  and  the  republic,  and  which  the 
jealousies  of  rival  merchants  in  either  state  unceasingly  fomented. 
In  this  year  also  the  Dutch  succeeded  in  capturing  the  chief  of  the 
Dunkirk  privateers  which  had  so  long  annoyed  their  trade,  and  they 
cruelly  ordered  sixty  of  the  prisoners  to  be  put  to  death.  But  the 
people,  more  huitiane  than  the  authorities,  rescued  them  from  the 
executioners  and  set  them  free. 

But  these  domestic  instances  of  success  and  inhumanity  were 
trifling  in  comparison  with  the  splendid  train  of  distant  events, 
accompanied  by  a  course  of  wholesale  benevolence,  that  redeemed 
the  traits  of  petty  guilt.  The  maritime  enterprises  of  Holland, 
forced  by  the  imprudent  policy  of  Spain  to  seek  a  wider  career  than 
in  the  narrow  seas  of  Europe,  were  day  by  day  extending  in  the 
Indies. 

To  ruin,  if  possible,  their  increasing  trade,  Philip  III.  sent 
out  the  Admiral  Hurtado,  with  a  fleet  of  eight  galleons  and  thirty- 
two  galleys.  The  Dutch  squadron  of  five  vessels,  commanded  by 
Wolfert  Hermanszoon,  attacked  them  off  the  coast  of  Malabar,  and 
his  temerity  was  crowned  with  great  success.  He  took  two  of  their 
vessels  and  completely  drove  the  remainder  from  the  Indian  seas. 
He  then  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  natives  of  the  Isle  of  Banda,  by 


MAURICE    AND    SPINOLA  181 

1605 

which  he  promised  to  support  them  against  the  Spaniards  and  Portu- 
guese on  condition  that  they  were  to  give  his  fellow-countrymen  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  purchasing  the  spices  of  the  island.  This 
treaty  was  the  foundation  of  the  influence  which  the  Dutch  so  soon 
succeeded  in  forming  in  the  East  Indies,  and  they  established  it  by 
a  candid,  mild,  and  tolerant  conduct,  strongly  contrasted  with  the 
pride  and  bigotry  which  had  signalized  every  act  of  the  Portuguese 
and  Spaniards. 


Chapter  XVI 

DUTCH   DISASTERS  AND  THE  TWELVE  YEARS'   PEACE 

1606-1619 

THE  states-general  now  resolved  to  confine  their  military 
operations  to  a  war  merely  defensive,  for  the  burden  of 
the  war  was  becoming  well-nigh  unbearable.  Spinola  had 
by  his  conduct  during  the  late  campaign  completely  revived  the 
spirits  of  the  Spanish  troops  and  excited  at  least  the  caution  of  the 
Dutch.  He  now  threatened  the  United  Provinces  with  invasion, 
and  he  exerted  his  utmost  efforts  to  raise  the  supplies  necessary  for 
the  execution  of  his  plan.  He  not  only  exhausted  the  resources  of 
the  King  of  Spain  and  the  archduke,  but  obtained  money  on  his 
private  account  from  all  those  usurers  who  were  tempted  by  his 
confident  anticipations  of  conquest.  He  soon  equipped  two  armies 
of  about  12,000  men  each.  At  the  head  of  one  of  these  he  took  the 
field ;  the  other,  commanded  by  the  Count  of  Bucquoi,  was  destined 
to  join  him  in  the  neighborhood  of  Utrecht,  and  he  was  then  resolved 
to  push  forward  with  the  whole  united  force  into  the  very  heart  of 
the  republic. 

Prince  Maurice  in  the  meantime  concentrated  his  army,  amount- 
ing to  12,000  men,  and  prepared  to  make  head  against  his  formida- 
ble opponents.  By  a  succession  of  the  most  prudent  maneuvers  he 
contrived  to  keep  Spinola  in  check,  disconcerted  all  his  projects  and 
forced  him  to  content  himself  with  the  capture  of  two  or  three 
towns — a  comparatively  insignificant  conquest.  Desiring  to  wipe 
away  the  disgrace  of  this  discomfiture,  and  to  risk  everything 
for  the  accomplishment  of  his  grand  design,  Spinola  used  every 
method  to  provoke  the  prince  to  a  battle,  even  though  a  serious  mu- 
tiny among  his  troops  and  the  impossibility  of  forming  a  junction 
with  Bucquoi  had  reduced  his  force  below  that  of  Maurice;  but  the 
latter,  to  the  surprise  of  all  who  expected  a  decisive  blow,  retreated 
from  before  the  Italian  general — abandoning  the  town  of  Grol, 
which  immediately  fell  into  Spinola's  power,  and  giving  rise  to 

162 


TWELVE    YEARS'    PEACE  183 

1606 

manifold  conjectures  and  infinite  discontent  at  conduct  so  little  in 
unison  with  his  wonted  enterprise  and  skill.  Even  Henry  IV. 
acknowledged  it  did  not  answer  the  expectation  he  had  formed  from 
Maurice's  splendid  talents  for  war.  The  fact  seems  to  be  that  the 
prince,  much  as  he  valued  victory,  dreaded  peace  more,  and  that  he 
was  resolved  to  avoid  a  decisive  blow,  which,  in  putting  an  end  to 
the  contest,  would  at  the  same  time  have  decreased  that  individual 
influence  in  the  state  which  his  ambitions  now  urged  him  to  aug- 
ment by  every  possible  means. 

The  Dutch  naval  expeditions  this  year  were  not  more  brilliant 
than  those  on  land.  Admiral  Haultain,  with  fifteen  ships,  was  sur- 
prised off  Cape  St.  Vincent  by  the  Spanish  fleet.  The  formidable 
appearance  of  their  galleons  inspired  on  this  occasion  a  perfect  panic 
among  the  Dutch  sailors.  They  hoisted  their  sails  and  fled,  with 
the  exception  of  one  ship,  commanded  by  Vice  Admiral  Klaazoon, 
whose  desperate  conduct  saved  the  national  honor.  Having  held  out 
until  his  vessel  was  quite  unmanageable,  and  almost  his  whole  crew 
killed  or  wounded,  he  prevailed  on  the  rest  to  agree  to  the  resolution 
he  had  formed,  knelt  down  on  the  deck,  and  putting  up  a  brief 
prayer  for  pardon  for  the  act,  thrust  a  light  into  the  powder  maga- 
zine and  was  instantly  blown  up  with  his  companions.  Only  two 
men  were  snatched  from  the  sea  by  the  Spaniards,  and  even  these, 
dreadfully  burned  and  mangled,  died  in  the  utterance  of  curses  on 
the  enemy. 

This  disastrous  occurrence  was  soon,  however,  forgotten  in  the 
rejoicings  for  a  brilliant  victory  gained  the  following  year  by  Heems- 
kirk,  so  celebrated  for  his  voyage  to  Nova  Zembla  and  by  his  con- 
duct in  the  East.  He  set  sail  from  the  ports  of  Holland  in  the  month 
of  March,  determined  to  signalize  himself  by  some  great  exploit, 
now  necessary  to  redeem  the  disgrace  which  had  begun  to  sully  the 
reputation  of  the  Dutch  navy.  He  soon  got  intelligence  that  the 
Spanish  fleet  lay  at  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar,  and  he  speedily 
prepared  to  offer  them  battle.  Before  the  combat  began  he  held  a 
council  of  war,  and  addressed  the  officers  in  an  energetic  speech,  in 
which  he  made  an  imperative  call  on  their  valor  to  conquer  or 
die  in  the  approaching  conflict.  He  led  on  to  the  action  in  his  own 
ship,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  both  fleets,  he  bore  right  down 
against  the  enormous  galleon  in  which  the  flag  of  the  Spanish 
admiral-in-chief  was  hoisted.  D'Avila  could  scarcely  believe  the 
evidence  of  his  eyes  at  this  audacity.    He  at  first  burst  into  laughter 


184  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1607 

at  the  notion,  but  as  Heemskirk  approached  he  cut  his  cables  and 
attempted  to  escape  under  the  shelter  of  the  town.  The  heroic 
Dutchman  pursued  him  through  the  whole  of  the  Spanish  fleet  and 
soon  forced  him  to  action.  At  the  second  broadside  Heemskirk 
had  his  left  leg  carried  off  by  a  cannon  ball,  and  he  almost  instantly 
died,  exhorting  his  crew  to  seek  for  consolation  in  the  defeat  of  the 
enemy.  Verhoef,  the  captain  of  the  ship,  concealed  the  admiral's 
death,  and  the  whole  fleet  continued  the  action  with  a  valor  worthy 
the  spirit  in  which  it  was  commenced.  The  victory  was  soon  decided. 
Four  of  the  Spanish  galleons  were  sunk  or  burned,  the  remainder 
fled,  and  the  citizens  of  Cadiz  trembled  with  the  apprehension  of 
sack  and  pillage.  But  the  death  of  Heemskirk,  when  made  known 
to  the  surviving  victors,  seemed  completely  to  paralyze  them.  They 
attempted  nothing  further,  but  sailing  back  to  Holland  with  the 
body  of  their  lamented  chief  thus  paid  a  greater  tribute  to  his 
importance  than  was  to  be  found  in  the  mausoleum  erected  to  his 
memory  in  the  city  of  Amsterdam. 

The  news  of  this  battle,  reaching  Brussels  before  it  was  known 
in  Holland,  contributed  not  a  little  to  quicken  the  anxiety  of  the 
archdukes  for  peace.  The  King  of  Spain,  worn  out  by  the  war 
which  drained  his  treasury,  had  for  some  time  ardently  desired  it. 
The  Portuguese  made  loud  complaints  of  the  ruin  that  threatened 
their  trade  and  their  East  Indian  colonies.  The  Spanish  ministers 
were  fatigued  with  the  apparently  interminable  contest  which  baf- 
fled all  their  calculations,  Spinola,  even  in  the  midst  of  his  brilliant 
career,  found  himself  so  overwhelmed  with  debts  and  so  oppressed 
by  the  reproaches  of  the  numerous  creditors  who  were  ruined  by 
his  default  of  payment,  that  he  joined  in  the  general  demand  for 
repose.  In  the  month  of  May,  1607,  proposals  were  made  by  the 
archdukes,  in  compliance  with  the  general  desire,  and  their  two 
plenipotentiaries.  Van  Wittenhorst  and  Gevaerts,  repaired  to  The 
Hague. 

Public  opinion  in  the  United  Provinces  was  divided  on  this 
important  question.  An  instinctive  hatred  against  the  Spaniards 
and  long  habits  of  warfare  influenced  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
to  consider  any  overture  for  peace  as  some  wily  artifice  aimed  at 
their  religion  and  liberty.  War  seemed  to  open  inexhaustible  sources 
of  wealth,  while  peace  seemed  to  threaten  the  extinction  of  the 
courage  which  was  now  as  much  a  habit  as  war  appeared  to  be  a 
want.    This  reasoning  was  particularly  convincing  to  Prince  Mau- 


TWELVE     YEARS'     PEACE  185 

1607 

rice,  whose  fame,  with  a  large  portion  of  his  authority  and  revenues, 
depended  on  the  continuance  of  hostiHties.  It  was  also  strongly 
rehshed  and  supported  in  Zealand  generally  and  in  the  chief  towns 
which  dreaded  the  rivalry  of  Antwerp.  But  those  who  bore  the 
burden  of  the  war  saw  the  subject  under  a  different  aspect.  They 
feared  that  the  present  state  of  things  would  lead  to  their  conquest 
by  the  enemy  or  to  the  ruin  of  their  liberty  by  the  growing  power  of 
Maurice.  They  hoped  that  peace  would  consolidate  the  republic 
and  cause  the  reduction  of  the  debt,  which  amounted  to  twenty-six 
millions  of  florins  for  the  state  of  Holland  alone.  At  the  head  of 
the  party  who  so  reasoned  was  Barneveldt,  and  his  name  is  a  guar- 
antee with  posterity  for  the  wisdom  of  the  opinion. 

To  allow  the  violent  opposition  to  subside  and  to  prevent  any 
explosion  of  party  feuds,  the  prudent  Barneveldt  suggested  a  mere 
suspension  of  arms,  during  which  the  permanent  interests  of  both 
states  might  be  calmly  discussed.  He  even  undertook  to  obtain 
Maurice's  consent  to  the  armistice.  The  prince  listened  to  his  argu- 
ments, and  was  apparently  convinced  by  them.  He  at  any  rate 
sanctioned  the  proposal,  but  he  afterward  complained  that  Barne- 
veldt had  deceived  him,  in  representing  the  negotiation  as  a  feint 
for  the  purpose  of  persuading  the  kings  of  France  and  England  to 
give  greater  aid  to  the  republic.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  Maurice 
reckoned  on  the  improbability  of  Spain's  consenting  to  the  terms  of 
the  proposed  treaty,  and  on  that  chance  withdrew  an  opposition 
which  could  scarcely  be  ascribed  to  any  but  motives  of  personal 
ambition.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  his  discontent  at  this  transac- 
tion, either  with  himself  or  Barneveldt,  laid  the  foundation  of  that 
bitter  enmity  which  proved  fatal  to  the  life  of  the  latter,  and  covered 
his  own  name,  otherwise  glorious,  with  undying  reproach. 

The  United  Provinces  positively  refused  to  admit  even  the  com- 
mencement of  a  negotiation  without  the  absolute  recognition  of  their 
independence  by  the  archdukes.  A  new  ambassador  was  accordingly 
chosen  on  the  part  of  these  sovereigns,  and  empowered  to  concede 
this  important  admission.  This  person  attracted  considerable  at- 
tention from  his  well-known  qualities  as  an  able  diplomatist.  He 
was  a  monk  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  named  John  de  Neyen, 
a  native  of  Antwerp,  and  a  person  as  well  versed  in  court  intrigue 
as  in  the  studies  of  the  cloister.  He  in  the  first  instance  repaired 
secretly  to  The  Hague,  and  had  several  private  interviews  with 
Prince  Maurice  and  Barneveldt  before  he  was  regularly  introduced 


186  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1607.1608 

to  the  states-general  in  his  official  character.  Two  different  journeys 
were  undertaken  by  this  agent  between  The  Hague  and  Brussels, 
before  he  could  succeed  in  obtaining  a  perfect  understanding  as 
to  the  specific  views  of  the  archdukes.  The  suspicions  of  the  states- 
general  seemed  fully  justified  by  the  dubious  tone  of  the  various 
communications,  which  avoided  the  direct  admission  of  the  required 
preliminary  as  to  the  independence  of  the  United  Provinces.  It 
was  at  length  concluded  in  explicit  terms,  and  a  suspension  of  arms 
for  eight  months  was  the  immediate  consequence. 

But  the  negotiation  for  peace  was  on  the  point  of  being  com- 
pletely broken,  in  consequence  of  the  conduct  of  Neyen,  who  justified 
every  doubt  of  his  sincerity  by  an  attempt  to  corrupt  Aarsens,  the 
greffier  of  the  states-general,  or  at  least  to  influence  his  conduct 
in  the  progress  of  the  treaty.  Neyen  presented  him  in  the  name  of 
the  archdukes,  and  as  a  token  of  his  esteem,  with  a  diamond  of  great 
value  and  a  bond  for  50,000  crowns.  Aarsens  accepted  these  pres- 
ents with  the  approbation  of  Prince  Maurice,  to  whom  he  had 
confided  the  circumstance,  and  who  was  no  doubt  delighted  at  what 
promised  a  rupture  to  the  negotiations.  Verreiken,  a  counselor  of 
state  who  assisted  Neyen  in  his  diplomatic  labors,  was  formally 
summoned  before  the  assembled  states-general,  and  there  Barne- 
veldt  handed  to  him  the  diamond  and  the  bond,  and  at  the  same 
time  read  him  a  lecture  of  true  republican  severity  on  the  subject. 
Verreiken  was  overwhelmed  by  the  violent  attack.  He  denied  the 
authority  of  Neyen  for  the  measure  he  had  taken,  and  remarked 
that  it  was  not  surprising  that  monks,  naturally  interested  and 
avaricious,  judged  others  by  themselves.  This  repudiation  of 
Neyen's  suspicious  conduct  seems  to  have  satisfied  the  stern  resent- 
ment of  Barneveldt  and  the  party  which  so  earnestly  labored  for 
peace.  In  spite  of  all  the  opposition  of  Maurice  and  his  partisans 
the  negotiations  went  on. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1608,  the  various  ambassadors  were 
assembled  at  The  Hague.  Spinola  was  the  chief  of  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries appointed  by  the  King  of  Spain,  and  Jeannin,  president 
of  the  parliament  of  Dijon,  a  man  of  rare  endowments,  represented 
France.  Prince  Maurice,  accompanied  by  his  brother  Frederick 
Henry,  the  various  counts  of  Nassau,  his  cousins,  and  a  numerous 
escort,  advanced  some  distance  to  meet  Spinola,  conveyed  him  to  The 
Hague  in  his  own  carriage,  and  lavished  on  him  all  the  attentions 
reciprocally  due  between  two  such  renowned  captains  during  the 


TWELVE    YEARS'    PEACE  187 

1607-1608 

suspension  of  their  rivalry.  The  president,  Richardot,  was,  with 
Neyen  and  Verreiken,  ambassador  from  the  archdukes,  but  Barne- 
veldt  and  Jeannin  appear  to  have  played  the  chief  parts  in  the  im- 
portant transaction  which  now  filled  all  Europe  with  anxiety. 
Every  state  was  more  or  less  concerned  in  the  result,  and  the  three 
great  monarchies  of  England,  France,  and  Spain  had  all  a  vital 
interest  at  stake.  The  conferences  were  therefore  frequent,  and 
the  debates  assumed  a  great  variety  of  aspects,  which  long  kept  the 
civilized  world  in  suspense. 

King  James  was  extremely  jealous  of  the  more  prominent  part 
taken  by  the  French  ambassadors  and  of  the  subaltern  consideration 
held  by  his  own  envoys,  Winwood  and  Spencer,  in  consequence  of 
the  disfavor  in  which  he  himself  was  held  by  the  Dutch  people.  It 
appears  evident  that,  whether  deservedly  or  the  contrary,  England 
was  at  this  period  unpopular  in  the  United  Provinces,  while  France 
was  looked  up  to  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  This  is  not  sur- 
prising, when  we  compare  the  characters  of  Henry  IV.  and  James  I., 
bearing  in  mind  how  much  of  national  reputation  at  the  time  de- 
pended on  the  personal  conduct  of  kings,  and  how  political  situations 
influence,  if  they  do  not  create,  the  virtues  and  vices  of  a  people. 
Independent  of  the  suspicions  of  his  being  altogether  unfavorable 
to  the  declaration  required  by  the  United  Provinces  from  Spain, 
to  which  James's  conduct  had  given  rise,  he  had  established  some 
exactions  which  greatly  embarrassed  their  fishing  expeditions  on 
the  coasts  of  England. 

The  main  points  for  discussion,  and  on  which  depended  the 
decision  for  peace  or  war,  were  those  which  concerned  religion,  and 
the  demand  on  the  part  of  Spain  that  the  United  Provinces  should 
renounce  all  claims  to  the  navigation  of  the  Indian  seas.  Philip 
required  for  the  Catholics  of  the  United  Provinces  the  free  exer- 
cise of  their  religion.  This  was  opposed  by  the  states-general, 
and  the  Archduke  Albert,  seeing  the  impossibility  of  carrying  that 
point,  dispatched  his  confessor,  Fra  Inigo  de  Briznella,  to  Spain. 
This  Dominican  was  furnished  with  the  written  opinion  of  several 
theologians,  that  the  king  might  conscientiously  slur  over  the  article 
of  religion,  and  he  was  the  more  successful  with  Philip,  as  the  Duke 
of  Lerma,  his  prime  minister,  was  resolved  to  accomplish  the  peace 
at  any  price.  The  conferences  at  The  Hague  were  therefore  not 
interrupted  on  this  question,  but  they  went  on  slowly,  months  being 
consumed  in  discussions  on  articles  of  trifling  importance.     They 


188  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1608 

were,  however,  resumed  in  the  month  of  August  with  greater  vigor. 
It  was  announced  that  the  King  of  Spain  abandoned  the  question 
respecting  rehgion,  but  that  it  was  in  the  certainty  that  his  modera- 
tion would  be  recompensed  by  ample  concessions  on  that  of  the 
Indian  trade,  on  which  he  was  inexorable.  This  article  became 
the  rock  on  which  the  whole  negotiation  eventually  split.  The  court 
of  Spain  on  the  one  hand  and  the  states-general  on  the  other  in- 
flexibly maintained  their  opposing  claims.  It  was  in  vain  that  the 
ambassadors  turned  and  twisted  the  subject  with  all  the  subtleties 
of  diplomacy.  Every  possible  expedient  was  used  to  shake  the  de- 
termination of  the  Dutch.  But  the  influence  of  the  East  India 
Company,  the  islands  of  Zealand,  and  the  city  of  Amsterdam  pre- 
vailed over  all.  Reports  of  the  avowal  on  the  part  of  the  King 
of  Spain  that  he  would  never  renounce  his  title  to  the  sovereignty 
of  the  United  Provinces  unless  they  abandoned  the  Indian  naviga- 
tion and  granted  the  free  exercise  of  religion  threw  the  whole 
diplomatic  corps  into  confusion,  and  on  August  25  the  states- 
general  announced  to  the  Marquis  of  Spinola  and  the  other  am- 
bassadors that  the  congress  was  dissolved  and  that  all  hopes  of 
peace  were  abandoned.^ 

Nothing  seemed  now  likely  to  prevent  the  immediate  renewal 
of  hostilities,  when  the  ambassadors  of  France  and  England  pro- 
posed the  mediation  of  their  respective  masters  for  the  conclusion 
of  a  truce  for  several  years.  The  King  of  Spain  and  the  archdukes 
were  well  satisfied  to  obtain  even  this  temporary  cessation  of  the 
war,  but  Prince  Maurice  and  a  portion  of  the  provinces  strenuously 
opposed  the  proposition.  The  French  and  English  ambassadors, 
however,  in  concert  with  Barneveldt,  who  steadily  maintained  his 
influence,  labored  incessantly  to  overcome  those  difliculties,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  overpowering  all  opposition  to  the  truce.  A 
new  congress  was  agreed  on,  to  assemble  at  Antwerp  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  conditions,  and  the  states-general  agreed  to  remove 
from  The  Hague  to  Bergen-op-Zoom,  to  be  more  within  reach  and 
ready  to  cooperate  in  the  negotiation. 

But  before  matters  assumed  this  favorable  turn  discussions 
and  disputes  had  intervened  on  several  occasions  to  render  fruitless 
every  effort  of  those  who  so  incessantly  labored  for  the  great  causes 
of  humanity  and  the  general  good.     On  one  occasion  Barneveldt, 

*  The  states-general  were  the  less  disposed  to  give  up  the  Indian  trade  as 
their  fleej^n  ***^  East  had  won  several  important  successes. 


TWELVE     YEARS'     PEACE  1S9 

1809 

disgusted  with  the  opposition  of  Prince  Maurice  and  his  partisans, 
had  actually  resigned  his  employments,  but  brought  back  by  the 
solicitations  of  the  states-general,  and  reconciled  to  Maurice  by  the 
intervention  of  Jeannin,  the  negotiations  for  the  truce  were  re- 
sumed, and  under  the  auspices  of  the  ambassadors  they  were  happily 
terminated.  After  two  years'  delay  this  long-wished-for  truce 
was  concluded  and  signed  on  April  9,  1609,  to  continue  for  the 
space  of  twelve  years. 

This  celebrated  treaty  contained  thirty-four  articles,  and  its 
fulfillment  on  either  side  was  guaranteed  by  the  kings  of  France 
and  England.  Notwithstanding  the  time  taken  up  in  previous 
discussions,  the  treaty  is  one  of  the  most  vague  and  unspecific  state 
papers  that  exist.  The  archdukes,  in  their  own  names  and  in  that 
of  the  King  of  Spain,  declared  the  United  Provinces  to  be  free 
and  independent  states  on  which  they  renounced  all  claim  whatever. 
By  the  third  article  each  party  was  to  hold  respectively  the  places 
which  each  possessed  at  the  commencement  of  the  armistice.  The 
fourth  and  fifth  articles  grant  to  the  republic,  but  in  a  phraseology 
obscure  and  even  doubtful,  the  right  of  navigation  and  free  trade 
to  the  Indies.  The  eighth  contains  all  that  regards  the  exercise  of 
religion;  and  the  remaining  clauses  are  wholly  relative  to  points 
of  internal  trade,  custom-house  regulations,  and  matters  of  private 
interests. 

Ephemeral  and  temporary  as  this  peace  appeared,  it  was  re- 
ceived with  almost  universal  demonstrations  of  joy  by  the  population 
of  the  Netherlands  in  their  two  grand  divisions.  Everyone  seemed 
to  turn  toward  the  enjoyment  of  tranquillity  with  the  animated 
composure  of  tired  laborers  looking  forward  to  a  day  of  rest  and 
sunshine.  This  truce  brought  a  calm  of  comparative  happiness  upon 
the  country,  which  an  almost  unremitting  tempest  had  desolated 
for  nearly  half  a  century;  and,  after  so  long  a  series  of  calamity, 
all  the  national  advantages  of  social  life  seemed  about  to  settle  on 
the  land.  The  attitude  which  the  United  Provinces  assumed  at 
this  period  was  indeed  a  proud  one.  They  were  not  now  compelled 
to  look  abroad  and  solicit  other  states  to  become  their  masters.  They 
had  forced  their  old  tyrants  to  acknowledge  their  independence,  to 
come  and  ask  for  peace  on  their  own  ground,  and  to  treat  with 
them  on  terms  of  no  doubtful  equality.  They  had  already  become 
so  flourishing,  so  powerful,  and  so  envied  that  they  who  had  so 
lately  excited  but  compassion  from  the  neighboring  states  were 


190 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 


1609 

now  regarded  with  such  jealousy  as  rivals,  unequivocally  equal, 
may  justly  inspire  in  each  other. 

The  ten  southern  provinces,  now  confirmed  under  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  house  of  Austria,  and  from  this  period  generally 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  Belgium,  immediately  began,  like  the 
northern  division  of  the  country,  to  labor  for  the  great  object  of 
repairing  the  dreadful  sufferings  caused  by  their  long  and  cruel 


THE  UNITED  PROVINCES 

AND 

^     THE  AUSTRIAN  NETHERLANDS 
I  60  9 


war.  Their  success  was  considerable.  Albert  and  Isabella,  their 
sovereigns,  joined  to  considerable  probity  of  character  and  talents 
for  government  a  fund  of  humanity  which  led  them  to  unceasing 
acts  of  benevolence.  The  whole  of  their  dominions  quickly  began 
to  recover  from  the  ravages  of  war.  Agriculture  and  the  minor 
operations  of  trade  resumed  all  their  wonted  activity.  But  the  man- 
ufactures of  Flanders  were  no  more,  and  the  refusal  of  the  United 
Provinces  to  reopen  the  River  Scheldt  and  thus  permit  the  revival 


TWELVE    YEARS'     PEACE  191 

1609-1619 

of  the  Antwerp  trade  had  the  effect  of  transferring  the  commer- 
cial center  of  the  Netherlands  to  Amsterdam  and  the  other  chief 
towns  of  Holland. 

The  tranquil  course  of  prosperity  in  the  Belgian  provinces  was 
only  once  interrupted  during  the  whole  continuance  of  the  twelve 
years'  truce,  and  that  wias  in  the  year  following  its  commencement. 
The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Cleves  and  Juliers  in  this  year  gave  rise 
to  serious  disputes  for  the  succession  to  his  states,  which  was  claimed 
by  several  of  the  princes  of  Germany.  The  Elector  of  Branden- 
burg and  the  Duke  of  Neuburg  were  seconded  both  by  France  and 
the  United  Provinces,  and  a  joint  army  of  both  nations,  commanded 
by  Prince  Maurice  and  the  Marshal  de  la  Chatre,  was  marched  into 
the  duchy  of  Cleves.  After  taking  possession  of  the  town  of 
Juliers,  the  allies  retired,  leaving  the  two  princes  above  mentioned 
in  a  partnership  possession  of  the  disputed  states.  But  this  joint 
sovereignty  did  not  satisfy  the  ambition  of  either,  and  serious  divi- 
sions arose  between  them,  each  endeavoring  to  strengthen  himself 
by  foreign  alliances.  The  Archdukes  Albert  and  Isabella  were 
drawn  into  the  quarrel,  and  they  dispatched  Spinola  at  the  head 
of  2o,cxx)  men  to  support  the  Duke  of  Neuburg,  whose  pretensions 
they  countenanced.  Prince  Maurice,  with' a  Dutch  army,  advanced 
on  the  other  hand  to  uphold  the  claims  of  the  Elector  of  Branden- 
burg. Both  generals  took  possession  of  several  towns,  and  this 
double  expedition  offered  the  singular  spectacle  of  two  opposing 
armies,  acting  in  different  interests,  making  conquests  and  dividing 
an  important  inheritance  without  the  occurrence  of  one  act  of  hos- 
tility to  each  other.  The  Treaty  of  Xanten,  1614,  finally  provided 
that  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  should  hold  Cleves  and  Mark, 
while  the  Duke  of  Neuburg  should  administer  Julich  and  Berg. 
But  the  interference  of  the  court  of  Madrid  had  nearly  been  the 
cause  of  a  new  rupture.  The  greatest  alarm  was  excited  in  the 
Belgic  provinces,  and  nothing  but  the  prudence  of  the  archdukes 
and  the  forbearance  of  the  states-general  could  have  succeeded  in 
averting  the  threatened  evil. 

With  the  exception  of  this  bloodless  mimicry  of  war,  the 
United  Provinces  presented  for  the  space  of  twelve  years  a  long 
continued  picture  of  peace,  as  the  term  is  generally  received,  but  a 
peace  so  disfigured  by  intestine  troubles  and  so  stained  by  actions 
of  despotic  cruelty  that  the  period  which  should  have  been  that  of 
its  greatest  happiness  becomes  but  an  example  of  its  worst  disgrace. 


192  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1609-1619 

The  assassination  of  Henry  IV.,  in  the  year  1610,  was  a  new 
instance  of  the  intolerant  spirit  which  reigned  paramount  in  Europe 
at  the  time,  and  while  robbing  France  of  one  of  its  best  monarchs, 
it  deprived  the  United  Provinces  of  their  truest  and  most  powerful 
friend.  Henry  has,  from  his  own  days  to  the  present,  found  a  ready 
eulogy  in  all  who  value  kings  in  proportion  as  they  are  distinguished 
by  heroism,  without  ceasing  to  evince  the  feelings  of  humanity. 
Henry  seems  to  have  gone  as  far  as  man  can  go  to  combine  wisdom, 
dignity,  and  courage  with  all  those  endearing  qualities  of  private 
life  which  alone  give  men  a  prominent  hold  upon  the  sympathies 
of  their  kind.  We  acknowledge  his  errors,  his  faults,  his  follies, 
only  to  love  him  the  better.  We  admire  his  valor  and  generosity, 
without  being  shocked  by  cruelty  or  disgusted  by  profusion.  We 
look  on  his  greatness  without  envy,  and  in  tracing  his  whole  career 
we  seem  to  walk  hand  in  hand  beside  a  dear  companion  rather  than 
to  follow  the  footsteps  of  a  mighty  monarch. 

But  the  death  of  this  powerful  supporter  of  their  efforts  for 
freedom  and  the  chief  guarantee  for  its  continuance  was  a  trifling 
calamity  to  the  United  Provinces  in  comparison  with  the  rapid  fall 
from  the  true  point  of  glory  so  painfully  exhibited  in  the  conduct 
of  their  own  domestic  champion.  It  had  been  well  for  Prince 
Maurice  of  Nassau  that  the  last  shot  fired  by  the  defeated  Spaniards 
in  the  battle  of  Nieuport  had  struck  him  dead  in  the  mo- 
ment of  his  greatest  victory  and  on  the  summit  of  his  fame. 
From  that  celebrated  day  he  had  performed  no  deed  of  war  that 
could  raise  his  reputation  as  a  soldier,  and  all  his  acts  as  stadt- 
holder  were  calculated  to  sink  him  below  the  level  of  civil  virtue 
and  just  government.  His  two  campaigns  against  Spinola  had  re- 
dounded more  to  the  credit  of  his  rival  than  to  his  own,  and  his 
whole  conduct  during  the  negotiation  for  the  truce  too  plainly  be- 
trayed the  unworthy  nature  of  his  ambition,  founded  on  despotic 
principles.  It  was  his  misfortune  to  have  been  so  completely  thrown 
out  of  the  career  for  which  he  had  been  designed  by  nature  and 
education.  War  was  his  element.  By  his  genius  he  improved  it 
as  a  science ;  by  his  valor  he  was  one  of  those  who  raised  it  from 
the  degradation  of  a  trade  to  the  dignity  of  a  passion.  But  when 
removed  from  the  camp  to  the  council-room  he  became  all  at  once  a 
common  man.  His  frankness  degenerated  into  roughness,  his  de- 
cision into  despotism,  his  courage  into  cruelty.  He  gave  a  new 
proof  of  the  melancholy  fact  that  circumstances  may  transform  the 


TWELVE     YEARS'     PEACE  198 

1609-1619 

most  apparent  qualities  of  virtue  into  those  opposite  vices  between 
which  human  wisdom  is  baffled  when  it  attempts  to  draw  a  decided 
and  invariable  line. 

Opposed  to  Maurice  in  almost  every  one  of  his  acts  was,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  Barneveldt,  one  of  the  truest  patriots  of  any 
time  or  country,  and,  with  the  exception  of  William,  the  great 
Prince  of  Orange,  the  most  eminent  citizen  to  whom  the  affairs 
of  the  Netherlands  have  given  celebrity.  Yet  with  all  our  admira- 
tion for  this  great  man,  we  must  not  forget  that  he  stood  for  no 
liberal  or  popular  movement.  In  his  desire  for  religious  tolerance 
he  stood  with  the  minority,  while  politically  he  was  the  champion 
of  aristrocracy,  as  Maurice  was  the  leader  of  the  populace.  We 
cannot  enter  minutely  into  the  train  of  circumstances  which  for 
several  years  brought  Maurice  and  Barneveldt  into  perpetual  con- 
cussion with  each  other.  Long  after  the  completion  of  the  truce, 
which  the  latter  so  mainly  aided  in  accomplishing,  every  minor 
point  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  republic  seemed  merged  in  the 
conflict  between  the  stadtholder  and  the  pensionary.  Without  at- 
tempting to  specify  these,  we  may  say  generally  that  almost  every 
one  redounded  to  the  disgrace  of  the  prince  and  the  honor  of  the 
patriot.  But  the  main  question  of  agitation  was  the  fierce  dispute 
which  soon  broke  out  between  two  professors  of  theology  of  the 
University  of  Leyden,  Francis  Gomarus  and  Jacob  Arminius. 
We  do  not  regret  on  this  occasion  that  our  confined  limits  spare  us 
the  task  of  recording  in  detail  controversies  on  points  of  speculative 
doctrine.  The  whole  strength  of  the  intellects  which  had  long 
been  engaged  in  the  conflict  for  national  and  religious  liberty  was 
now  directed  to  metaphysical  theology  and  wasted  upon  intermin- 
able disputes  about  predestination  and  grace.  Barneveldt  enrolled 
himself  among  the  partisans  of  Arminius;  Maurice  became  a 
Gomarist. 

It  was,  however,  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at,  that  a  country  so 
recently  changed  in  organization  both  in  church  and  state  should 
run  into  wild  excesses  of  intolerance  before  sectarian  principles 
were  thoroughly  understood  and  definitively  fixed.  Persecutions 
of  various  kinds  were  indulged  in  against  all  the  shades  of  doctrine 
into  which  Christianity  had  split.  Every  minister  who  strove  to 
moderate  the  rage  of  Calvinistic  enthusiasm  was  openly  denounced 
by  its  partisans,  and  one,  named  Gaspard  Koolhaas,  was  actually 
excommunicated  by  a  synod  and  denounced  in  plain  terms  to  the 


194.  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1609-1619 

devil.  Arminius  had  been  appointed  professor  at  Leyden  in  1603, 
for  the  mildness  of  his  doctrines,  which  were  joined  to  most  affable 
manners,  a  happy  temper,  and  a  purity  of  conduct  which  no  calumny 
could  successfully  traduce. 

His  colleague,  Gomarus,  a  native  of  Bruges,  learned,  violent, 
and  rigid  in  sectarian  points,  soon  became  jealous  of  the  more 
popular  professor's  influence.  A  furious  attack  on  the  latter  was 
answered  by  recrimination,  and  the  whole  battery  of  theological 
authorities  was  reciprocally  discharged  by  one  or  other  of  the  dis- 
putants. The  states-general  interfered  between  them.  They  were 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  council  of  state,  and  grave  poli- 
ticians listened  for  hours  to  the  dispute.  Arminius  obtained  the 
advantage,  by  the  gentleness  and  moderation  of  his  conduct.  He 
was  meek,  while  Gomarus  was  furious,  and  many  of  the  listeners 
declared  that  they  would  rather  die  with  the  charity  of  the  former 
than  in  the  faith  of  the  latter.  A  second  hearing  was  allowed  them 
before  the  states  of  Holland.  Again  Arminius  took  the  lead,  and 
the  controversy  went  on  unceasingly,  till  this  amiable  man,  worn 
out  by  his  exertions  and  the  presentiment  of  the  evil  which  these 
disputes  were  engendering  for  his  country,  expired  in  his  forty- 
ninth  year,  still  persisting  in  his  opinions. 

The  Gomarists  now  loudly  called  for  a  national  synod  to  regu- 
late the  points  of  faith.  The  Arminians  remonstrated  on  various 
grounds,  and  thus  acquired  the  name  of  Remonstrants,  by  which 
they  were  soon  generally  distinguished.  The  most  deplorable  con- 
tests ensued.  Serious  riots  occurred  in  several  of  the  towns  of 
Holland,  and  James  I.  of  England  could  not  resist  the  temptation 
of  entering  the  polemical  lists,  as  a  champion  of  orthodoxy  and  a 
decided  Gomarist.  His  hostility  was  chiefly  directed  against  Vors- 
tius,  the  successor  and  disciple  of  Arminius,  whom  he  strongly 
recommended  the  states-general  to  have  burned  for  heresy.  His 
inveterate  intolerance  knew  no  bounds,  and  it  completed  the  mel- 
ancholy picture  of  absurdity  which  the  whole  affair  presents  to 
the  modern  students  of  the  times. 

In  this  dispute,  which  occupied  and  agitated  all,  it  was  im- 
possible that  Barneveldt  should  not  choose  the  congenial  temperance 
and  toleration  of  Arminius.  Maurice,  with  probably  no  distinct 
conviction  or  much  interest  in  the  abstract  differences  on  either 
side,  joined  the  Gomarists.  His  motives  were  purely  temporal,  for 
the  party  espoused  was  now  decidedly  as  much  political  as  religious. 


TWELVE    YEARS'     PEACE  196 

1609-1619 

King  James  rewarded  him  by  conferring  on  him  the  ribbon  of  the 
Order  of  the  Garter,  vacant  by  the  death  of  Henry  IV.  of  France. 
The  ceremony  of  investment  was  performed  with  great  pomp  by 
the  EngHsh  ambassador  at  The  Hague,  and  James  and  Maurice 
entered  from  that  time  into  a  closer  and  more  uninterrupted  cor- 
respondence than  before. 

During  the  long  continuance  of  the  theological  disputes  the 
United  Provinces  had  nevertheless  made  rapid  strides  toward  com- 
mercial greatness.  Commercial  treaties  with  Denmark,  Sweden, 
Russia,  and  the  Hanse  towns  insured  their  enormous  trade  and 
fisheries  in  the  northern  seas.  In  1609  the  famous  Bank  of  Ams- 
terdam, for  years  the  leading  institution  of  its  kind  in  Europe, 
was  established.  And  the  year  1616  witnessed  the  completion  of  an 
affair  which  was  considered  the  consolidation  of  their  independence. 
This  important  matter  was  the  recovery  of  the  towns  of  Brill  and 
Flushing,  and  the  fort  of  Rammekins,  which  had  been  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  English  as  security  for  the  loan  granted  to  the  republic 
by  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  whole  merit  of  the  transaction  was  due 
to  the  perseverance  and  address  of  Barneveldt  acting  on  the  weak- 
ness and  the  embarrassments  of  King  James.  Religious  contention 
did  not  so  fully  occupy  Barneveldt  but  that  he  kept  a  constant  eye 
on  political  concerns.  He  was  well  informed  on  all  that  passed  in 
the  English  court.  He  knew  the  wants  of  James,  and  was  aware 
of  his  efforts  to  bring  about  the  marriage  of  his  son  with  the  In- 
fanta of  Spain.  The  danger  of  such  an  alliance  was  evident  to  the 
penetrating  Barneveldt,  who  saw  in  perspective  the  probability  of 
the  wily  Spaniard's  obtaining  from  the  English  monarch  possession 
of  the  strong  places  in  question.  He  therefore  resolved  on  obtain- 
ing their  recovery,  and  his  great  care  was  to  get  them  back  with 
a  considerable  abatement  of  the  enormous  debt  for  which  they 
stood  pledged,  and  which  now  amounted  to  8,000,000  florins. 

Barneveldt  commenced  his  operations  by  sounding  the  needy 
monarch  through  the  medium  of  Noel  Caron,  the  ambassador  from 
the  states-general,  and  he  next  managed  so  that  James  himself 
should  offer  to  give  up  the  towns,  thereby  allowing  a  fair  pretext 
to  the  states  for  claiming  a  diminution  of  the  debt.  The  English 
garrisons  were  unpaid,  and  their  complaints  brought  down  a  strong 
remonstrance  from  James,  and  excuses  from  the  states,  founded  on 
the  poverty  of  their  financial  resources.  The  negotiation  rapidly 
went  on,  in  the  same  spirit  of  avidity  on  the  part  of  the  king  and 


196  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1609-1619 

of  good  management  on  that  of  his  debtors.  It  was  finally  agreed 
that  the  states  should  pay  in  full  of  the  demand  2,728,000  florins, 
being  about  one-third  of  the  debt.  Prince  Maurice  repaired  to 
the  cautionaiy  towns  in  the  month  of  June,  and  received  them  at 
the  hands  of  the  English  governors,  the  garrisons  at  the  same  time 
entering  into  the  service  of  the  republic. 

The  accomplishment  of  this  measure  afforded  the  highest  sat- 
isfaction to  the  United  Provinces.  It  caused  infinite  discontent  in 
England,  and  James,  with  the  common  injustice  of  men  who  make 
a  bad  bargain  (even  though  its  conditions  be  of  their  own  seeking, 
and  suited  to  their  own  convenience),  turned  his  own  self-dissat- 
isfaction into  bitter  hatred  against  him  whose  watchful  integrity 
had  successfully  labored  for  his  country's  good.  Barneveldt's  lean- 
ing toward  France  and  the  Arminians  filled  the  measure  of.  James's 
unworthy  enmity.  Its  effects  were  soon  apparent,  on  the  arrival 
at  The  Hague  of  Carleton,  who  succeeded  Winwood  as  James's 
ambassador.  The  haughty  pretensions  of  this  diplomatist,  whose 
attention  seemed  turned  to  theological  disputes  rather  than  politics, 
gave  great  disgust,  and  he  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  persecu- 
tion which  led  to  the  tragical  end  of  Barneveldt's  valuable  life. 

While  this  indefatigable  patriot  was  busy  in  relieving  his 
country  from  its  dependency  on  England,  his  enemies  accused  him 
of  the  wish  to  reduce  it  once  more  to  Spanish  tyranny.  Francis 
Aarsens,  son  to  him  who  proved  himself  so  incorruptible  when  at- 
tempted to  be  bribed  by  Neyen,  was  one  of  the  foremost  of  the  fac- 
tion who  now  labored  for  the  downfall  of  the  pensionary.  He  was 
a  man  of  infinite  dissimulation,  versed  in  all  the  intrigues  of  courts, 
and  so  deep  in  all  their  tortuous  tactics  that  Cardinal  Richelieu,  well 
qualified  to  prize  that  species  of  talent,  declared  that  he  knew  only 
three  great  political  geniuses,  of  whom  Francis  Aarsens  was  one. 

Though  there  is  little  evidence  to  show  that  Prince  Maurice 
actually  aimed  at  the  sovereignty  of  the  Netherlands,  still  he  felt 
himself  aggrieved  at  the  secondary  position  in  the  state  to  which 
he  had  been  reduced  since  the  truce  which  he  had  so  bitterly 
opposed.  The  descendant  of  an  imperial  house,  the  son  of  the 
"  father  of  his  country,"  and  himself  its  preserver,  the  first  position 
in  the  state,  if  not  the  sovereignty  itself,  was  only  his  just  recom- 
pense. Secure  in  the  support  of  the  people,  who  had  no  share  in 
the  government,  and  of  the  Calvinist  party,  Maurice  saw  but  one 
obstacle  in  his  path — the  domineering  Barneveldt,  leader  of  the 


TWELVE    YEARS'     PEACE  197 

1609-1619 

aristocracy.  He  was  for  a  while  diverted  from  his  pursuit  by  the 
preparation  made  to  afiford  assistance  to  some  of  the  allies  of  the 
republic.  Fifty  thousand  florins  a  month  were  granted  to  the  Duke 
of  Savoy,  who  was  at  war  with  Spain,  and  4000  men,  with  nearly 
forty  ships,  were  dispatched  to  the  aid  of  the  republic  of  Venice 
in  its  contest  with  Ferdinand,  Archduke  of  Styria,  who  was  after- 
ward elected  emperor.  The  honorary  empire  of  the  seas  seems  at 
this  time  to  have  been  successfully  claimed  by  the  United  Provinces. 
They  paid  back  with  interest  the  haughty  conduct  with  which  they 
had  been  long  treated  by  the  English,  and  they  refused  to  pay  the 
fishery  duties  to  which  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  were  sub- 
ject. The  Dutch  sailors  had  even  the  temerity,  under  pretext  of 
pursuing  pirates,  to  violate  the  British  territory,  and  they  set  fire 
to  the  town  of  Crookhaven,  in  Ireland,  and  massacred  several  of 
the  inhabitants. 

King  James,  immersed  in  theological  studies,  appears  to  have 
passed  slightly  over  this  outrage.  But  he  took  fire  at  the  news 
that  the  states  had  prohibited  the  importation  of  cloth  dyed  and 
dressed  in  England.  It  required  the  best  exertion  of  Bame- 
veldt's  talents  to  pacify  him,  and  it  was  not  easy  to  effect  this 
through  the  jaundiced  medium  of  the  ambassador  Carleton.  But 
it  was  unanswerably  argued  by  the  pensionary  that  the  manufacture 
of  cloth  was  one  of  those  ancient  and  natural  sources  of  wealth 
which  England  had  ravished  from  the  Netherlands,  and  which  the 
latter  was  justified  in  recovering  by  every  effort  consistent  with 
national  honor  and  fair  principles  of  government. 

The  influence  of  Prince  Maurice  had  gained  complete  success 
for  the  Calvinist  party  in  its  various  titles  of  Gomarists,  non-Re- 
monstrants, etc.  The  audacity  and  violence  of  these  ferocious  sec- 
tarians knew  no  bounds.  Outrages,  too  many  to  enumerate,  became 
common  through  the  country,  and  Arminianism  was  on  all  sides 
assailed  and  persecuted.  Barneveldt  frequently  appealed  to  Maurice 
without  effect,  and  all  the  efforts  of  the  former  to  obtain  justice  by 
means  of  the  civil  authorities  were  paralyzed  by  the  inaction  in 
which  the  prince  retained  the  military  force.  In  this  juncture  the 
magistrates  of  various  towns,  spurred  on  by  Barneveldt,  called  out 
the  national  militia,  called  Waardegelders,  which  possessed  the 
right  of  arming  at  its  own  expense  for  the  protection  of  the  public 
peace.  Schism  upon  schism  was  the  consequence,  and  the  whole 
country  was  reduced  to  that  state  of  anarchy  so  favorable  to  the 


198  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1609-1619 

designs  of  an  ambitious  soldier  already  in  the  enjoyment  of  almost 
absolute  power.  Maurice  possessed  all  the  hardihood  and  vigor 
suited  to  such  an  occasion.  At  the  head  of  two  companies  of  in- 
fantry, and  accompanied  by  his  brother  Frederick  Henry,  he  sud- 
denly set  out  at  night  from  The  Hague,  arrived  at  the  Brill,  and  in 
defiance  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  magistrates  and  in  violation 
of  the  rights  of  the  town  he  placed  his  devoted  garrison  in  that 
important  place.  To  justify  this  measure  reports  were  spread  that 
Bameveldt  intended  to  deliver  it  up  to  the  Spaniards,  and  the  igno- 
rant, insensate,  and  ungrateful  people  swallowed  the  calumny. 

This  and  such  minor  efforts  were,  however,  all  subservient  to 
the  one  grand  object  of  utterly  destroying,  by  a  public  proscription, 
the  whole  of  the  party  of  Barneveldt,  now  identified  with  Arminian- 
ism.  A  national  synod  was  loudly  clamored  for  by  the  Gomarists, 
and  in  spite  of  all  opposition  on  constitutional  grounds  it  was  finally 
proclaimed.  Uyttenbogaert,  the  enlightened  pastor  and  friend  of 
Maurice,  who  on  all  occasions  labored  for  the  general  good,  now 
moderated  as  much  as  possible  the  violence  of  either  party.  But  he 
could  not  persuade  Barneveldt  to  render  himself,  by  compliance,  a 
tacit  accomplice  with  a  measure  that  he  conceived  fraught  with  vio- 
lence to  the  public  privileges.  He  had  an  inflexible  enemy  in  Carle- 
ton,  the  English  ambassador.  His  interference  carried  the  question, 
and  it  was  at  his  suggestion  that  Dordrecht,  or  Dort,  was  chosen 
for  the  assembling  of  the  synod.  Du  Maurier,  the  French  ambas- 
sador, acted  on  all  occasions  as  a  mediator,  but  to  obtain  influence 
at  such  a  time  it  was  necessary  to  become  a  partisan.  Several  towns 
— ^Leyden,  Gouda,  Rotterdam,  and  some  others — made  a  last  effort 
for  their  liberties,  and  formed  a  fruitless  confederation. 

Barneveldt  solicited  the  acceptance  of  his  resignation  of  all 
his  offices.  The  states-general  implored  him  not  to  abandon  the 
country  at  such  a  critical  moment.  He  consequently  maintained  his 
post.  Libels  the  most  vindictive  and  atrocious  were  published  and 
circulated  against  him,  and  at  last,  forced  from  his  silence  by  these 
multiplied  calumnies,  he  put  forward  his  "  Apology,"  addressed  to 
the  states  of  Holland. 

This  dignified  vindiction  only  produced  new  outrages.  Mau- 
rice, now  become  Prince  of  Orange  by  the  death  of  his  elder  brother 
without  children,  employed  his  whole  authority  to  carry  his  object 
and  crush  Bameveldt.  The  states-general  were  now  completely  un- 
der the  prince's  control.    They  thanked  him,  they  consented  to  dis- 


TWELVE    YEARS'    PEACE  199 

1609-1619 

band  the  militia;  they  formally  invited  foreign  powers  to  favor 
and  protect  the  synod  about  to  be  held  at  Dort.  The  return  of 
Carleton  from  England,  where  he  had  gone  to  receive  the  more 
positive  promises  of  support  from  King  James,  was  only  wanting 
to  decide  Maurice  to  take  the  final  step,  and  no  sooner  did  the  am- 
bassador arrive  at  The  Hague  than  Barneveldt  and  his  most  able 
friends,  Grotius,  Hoogerbeets,  and  Ledenberg,  were  arrested  in  the 
name  of  the  states-general. 

The  country  was  taken  by  surprise,  no  resistance  being  offered. 
The  concluding  scenes  of  the  tragedy  were  hurried  on.  Violence 
was  succeeded  by  violence,  against  public  feeling  and  public  justice. 
Maurice  became  completely  absolute  in  everything  but  in  name.  The 
supplications  of  ambassadors,  the  protests  of  individuals,  the  argu- 
ments of  statesmen,  were  alike  unavailing  to  stop  the  torrent  of  des- 
potism and  injustice.  The  synod  of  Dort  was  opened  on  Novem- 
ber 13,  1618.  Theology  was  mystified,  religion  disgraced,  Chris- 
tianity outraged.  And  after  152  sittings,  during  six  months'  dis- 
play of  ferocity  and  fraud,  the  solemn  mockery  was  closed  on  May 
9,  1619,  by  the  declaration  of  its  president  that  "  its  miraculous 
labors  had  made  hell  tremble." 

Proscriptions,  banishments,  and  death  were  the  natural  con- 
sequences of  this  synod.  The  divisions  which  it  had  professed  to 
extinguish  were  rendered  a  thousand  times  more  violent  than 
before.  Its  decrees  did  incalculable  ill  to  the  cause  they  were 
meant  to  promote.  But  the  moral  effects  of  this  memorable  con- 
clave were  too  remote  to  prevent  the  sacrifice  which  almost  imme- 
diately followed  the  celebration  of  its  rites.  A  trial  by  twenty-four 
prejudiced  enemies,  by  courtesy  called  judges,  ended  in  the  con- 
demnation of  Barneveldt  and  his  fellow-patriots  for  treason  against 
the  liberties  they  had  vainly  labored  to  save.  Barneveldt  died  on 
the  scaffold  by  the  hands  of  the  executioner  on  May  13,  1619,  in 
the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age.  Grotius  and  Hoogerbeets 
were  sentenced  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  Ledenberg  committed 
suicide  in  his  cell  sooner  than  brave  the  tortures  which  he  antici- 
pated at  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

Many  more  pages  than  we  are  able  to  afford  sentences  might 
be  devoted  to  the  details  of  these  iniquitous  proceedings  and  an 
account  of  their  consummation.  The  heroism  of  Barneveldt  was 
never  excelled  by  any  martyr  to  the  most  holy  cause.  He  appealed 
to  Maurice  against  the  unjust  sentence  which  condemned  him  to 


200  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1619 

death,  but  he  scorned  to  beg  his  life.  He  met  his  fate  with  such 
temperate  courage  as  was  to  be  expected  from  the  dignified  energy 
of  his  life.  His  last  words  were  worthy  a  philosopher  whose 
thoughts,  even  in  his  latest  moments,  were  superior  to  mere  per- 
sonal hope  or  fear,  and  turned  to  the  deep  mysteries  of  his  being. 
"O  God!"  cried  Bameveldt,  "what  then  is  man?"  as  he  bent 
his  head  to  the  sword  that  severed  it  from  his  body  and  sent  the 
inquiring  spirit  to  learn  the  great  mystery  for  which  it  longed. 


Chapter    XVII 

RENEWAL  OF  WAR  WITH  SPAIN  AND  THE  DESPOTISM 
OF  PRINCE  MAURICE.     1619-1625 

WITH  the  death  of  Barneveldt  the  troubles  of  the  truce 
were  ended,  and  Prince  Maurice  was  supreme  in  the 
state.  Both  sides  have  to  bear  their  share  of  the  blame, 
though  the  greater  wrong  rests  with  the  party  which  committed  the 
judicial  murder  of  the  greatest  of  Dutch  statesmen.  Honoring 
after  his  death  the  man  whom  they  had  failed  in  life,  the  states  of 
Holland  recorded  of  him :  "  A  man  of  great  activity,  diligence, 
memory,  and  conduct;  yea,  remarkable  in  every  respect.  Let  him 
that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall;  and  may  God  be 
merciful  to  his  soul." 

Grotius  and  Hoogerbeets  were  confined  in  the  castle  of  Lou- 
vestein.  Moersbergen,  a  leading  patriot  of  Utrecht,  De  Haan, 
pensionary  of  Haarlem,  and  Uyttenbogaert,  the  chosen  confidant 
of  Maurice,  but  the  friend  of  Barneveldt,  were  next  accused  and 
sentenced  to  imprisonment  or  banishment.  And  thus  Arminian- 
ism,  deprived  of  its  chiefs,  was  for  the  time  completely  stifled. 
The  Remonstrants,  thrown  into  utter  despair,  looked  to  emigra- 
tion as  their  last  resource.  Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden, 
and  Frederick,  Duke  of  Holstein,  offered  them  shelter  and  protec- 
tion in  their  respective  states.  Several  availed  themselves  of  these 
offers,  but  the  states-general,  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  self- 
expatriation,  moderated  their  rigor  and  thus  checked  the  desolating 
evil.  Several  of  the  imprisoned  Arminians  had  the  good  fortune 
to  elude  the  vigilance  of  their  jailers;  but  the  escape  of  Grotius 
is  the  most  remarkable  of  all,  both  from  his  own  celebrity  as  one 
of  the  first  writers  of  his  age  in  the  most  varied  walks  of  litera- 
ture, and  from  its  peculiar  circumstances. 

Grotius  was  freely  allowed  during  his  close  imprisonment  all 
the  relaxations  of  study.  His  friends  supplied  him  with  quanti- 
ties of  books,  which  were  usually  brought  into  the  fortress  in  a 
trunk  two  feet  two  inches  long,  which  the  governor  regularly  and 
carefully  examined  during  the  first  year.      But  custom  brought 

901 


202  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1619-1625 

relaxation  in  the  strictness  of  the  prison  rules,  and  the  wife  of  the 
illustrious  prisoner,  his  faithful  and  constant  visitor,  proposed  the 
plan  of  his  escape,  to  which  he  gave  a  ready  and,  all  hazards  con- 
sidered, a  courageous  assent.  Shut  up  in  this  trunk  for  two  hours, 
and  with  all  the  risk  of  suffocation,  and  of  injury  from  the  rude 
handling  of  the  soldiers  who  carried  it  out  of  the  fort,  Grotius  was 
brought  clear  off  by  the  very  agents  of  his  persecutors,  and  safely 
delivered  to  the  care  of  his  devoted  and  discreet  female  servant, 
who  knew  the  secret  and  kept  it  well.  She  attended  the  important 
consignment  in  the  barge  to  the  town  of  Gorkum,  and  after  va- 
rious risks  of  discovery,  providentially  escaped,  Grotius  at  length 
found  himself  safe  beyond  the  limits  of  his  native  land.  His  wife, 
whose  torturing  suspense  may  be  imagined  the  while,  concealed  the 
stratagem  as  long  as  it  was  possible  to  impose  on  the  jailer  with  the 
pardonable  and  praiseworthy  fiction  of  her  husband's  illness  and 
confinement  to  his  bed.  The  government,  outrageous  at  the  re- 
sult of  the  affair,  at  first  proposed  to  hold  this  courageous 
prisoner  in  place  of  the  prey  they  had  lost,  and  to  proceed  crim- 
inally against  her.  But  after  a  fortnight's  confinement  she  was 
restored  to  liberty,  and  the  country  saved  from  the  disgrace  of  so 
ungenerous  and  cowardly  a  proceeding.  Grotius  repaired  to 
Paris,  where  he  was  received  in  the  most  flattering  manner,  and 
distinguished  by  a  pension  of  one  thousand  crowns  allowed  by  the 
king.  He  soon  published  his  vindication — one  of  the  most  elo- 
quent and  unanswerable  productions  of  its  kind,  in  which  those 
times  of  unjust  accusations  and  illegal  punishments  were  so  fertile. 
The  expiration  of  the  twelve  years'  truce  was  now  at  hand, 
and  the  United  Provinces  after  that  long  period  of  intestine  trouble 
and  disgrace  had  once  more  to  recommence  a  more  congenial 
struggle  against  foreign  enemies,  for  a  renewal  of  the  war  with 
Spain  might  be  fairly  considered  a  return  to  the  regimen  best 
suited  to  the  constitution  of  the  people.  The  republic  saw,  how- 
ever, with  considerable  anxiety  the  approach  of  this  new  contest. 
It  was  fully  sensible  of  its  own  weakness.  Exile  had  reduced  its 
population;  patriotism  had  subsided;  foreign  friends  were  dead; 
the  troops  were  unused  to  warfare;  the  hatred  against  Spanish 
cruelty  had  lost  its  excitement;  the  finances  were  in  confusion; 
Prince  Maurice  had  no  longer  the  activity  of  youth;  and  the  still 
more  vigorous  impulse  of  fighting  for  his  country's  liberty  was 
changed  to  the  less  honorable  task  of  upholding  his  own  authority. 


DESPOTISM     OF     MAURICE  «(» 

1619-1625 

The  archdukes,  encouraged  by  these  considerations,  had  hopes 
of  bringing  back  the  United  Provinces  to  their  domination.  They 
accordingly  sent  an  embassy  to  Holland  with  proposals  to  that 
effect.  It  was  received  with  indignation,  and  the  ambassador, 
Peckius,  was  obliged  to  be  escorted  back  to  the  frontiers  by  sol- 
diers, to  protect  him  from  the  insults  of  the  people.  Military 
operations  were,  however,  for  a  while  refrained  from  on  either 
side,  in  consequence  of  the  deaths  of  Philip  III.  of  Spain  and  the 
Archduke  Albert.  Philip  IV.  succeeded  his  father  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  and  the  Archduchess  Isabella  found  herself  alone  at  the 
head  of  the  government  in  the  Belgian  provinces.  Olivarez  be- 
came as  sovereign  a  minister  in  Spain  as  his  predecessor,  the  Duke 
of  Lerma,  had  been;  but  the  archduchess,  though  now  with  only 
the  title  of  governant  of  the  Netherlands,  held  the  reins  of  power 
with  a  firm  and  steady  hand. 

In  the  celebrated  Thirty  Years'  War  which  had  commenced 
between  the  Protestants  and  Catholics  of  Germany  the  former  had 
met  with  considerable  assistance  from  the  United  Provinces. 
Barneveldt,  who  foresaw  the  embarrassments  which  the  country 
would  have  to  contend  with  on  the  expiration  of  that  truce,  had 
strongly  opposed  its  meddling  in  the  quarrel.  But  his  ruin  and 
death  left  no  restraint  on  the  policy  which  prompted  the  republic 
to  aid  the  Protestant  cause.  Fifty  thousand  florins  a  month  to 
the  revolted  Protestants,  and  a  like  sum  to  the  princes  of  the  union, 
were  for  some  time  advanced.  Frederick,  the  Elector  Palatine, 
son-in-law  of  the  King  of  England  and  nephew  of  the  prince,  was 
chosen  by  the  Bohemians  for  their  king,  but  in  spite  of  the  en- 
thusiastic wishes  of  the  English  nation  James  persisted  in  refusing 
to  interfere  in  Frederick's  favor.  France,  governed  by  De  Luynes, 
a  favorite  whose  influence  was  deeply  pledged,  and,  it  is  said, 
dearly  sold,  to  Spain,  abandoned  the  system  of  Henry  IV.  and  up- 
held the  house  of  Austria.  Thus  the  new  monarch,  only  aided  by 
the  United  Provinces,  and  that  feebly,  was  soon  driven  from  his 
temporary  dignity,  his  hereditary  dominions  in  the  Palatinate  were 
overrun  by  the  Spanish  army  under  Spinola,  and  Frederick,  utterly 
defeated  at  the  battle  of  Prague,  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  Hol- 
land. James's  abandonment  of  his  son-in-law  has  been  universally 
blamed  by  almost  every  historian.  He  certainly  allowed  a  few 
generous  individuals  to  raise  a  regiment  in  England  of  2400  chosen 
soldiers,  who,  under  the  command  of  the  gallant  Sir  Horace  Vere, 


204.  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1619-1625 

could  only  vainly  regret  the  impossibility  of  opposition  to  ten 
times  their  number  of  veteran  troops. 

This  contest  was  carried  on  at  first  with  almost  all  the  ad- 
vantages on  the  side  of  the  house  of  Austria.  Two  men  of  extraor- 
dinary character,  which  presented  a  savage  parody  of  military 
talent,  and  a  courage  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  ferocity  into  which 
it  degenerated,  struggled  for  a  while  against  the  imperial  arms. 
These  were  the  Count  of  Mansfeld  and  Christian  of  Brunswick. 
At  the  head  of  two  desperate  bands,  which,  by  dint  of  hard  fight- 
ing, acquired  something  of  the  consistency  of  regular  armies,  they 
maintained  a  long  resistance;  but  the  imperial  commanders,  the 
Duke  of  Bavaria  and  Count  Tilly,  completed  in  the  year  1622  the 
defeat  of  their  daring  and  semi-barbarous  opponents. 

Spinola  was  resolved  to  commence  the  war  against  the  repub- 
lic by  some  important  exploit.  He  therefore  laid  siege  to  Bergen- 
op-Zoom,  a  place  of  great  consequence,  commanding  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Meuse  and  the  coasts  of  all  the  islands  of  Zealand.  But 
Maurice,  roused  from  the  lethargy  of  despotism  which  seemed  to 
have  wholly  changed  his  character,  repaired  to  the  scene  of  threat- 
ened danger,  and  succeeded,  after  a  series  of  desperate  efforts  on 
both  sides,  in  raising  the  siege,  and  forced  Spinola  to  abandon  his 
attempt  with  a  loss  of  upwards  of  12,000  men.  Frederick  Henry 
in  the  meantime  had  made  an  incursion  into  Brabant  with  a  body  of 
light  troops,  and,  ravaging  the  country  up  to  the  very  gates  of 
Mechlin,  Louvain,  and  Brussels,  levied  contributions  to  the 
amount  of  600,000  florins.  The  states  completed  this  series  of 
good  fortune  by  obtaining  the  possession  of  West  Friesland  by 
means  of  Count  Mansfeld,  whom  they  had  dispatched  thither  at 
the  head  of  his  formidable  army,  and  who  had,  in  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  Count  Tilly,  successfully  performed  his  mission. 

We  must  now  turn  from  these  brief  records  of  military 
affairs,  the  more  pleasing  theme  for  the  historian  of  the  Nether- 
lands in  comparison  with  domestic  events,  which  claim  attention 
but  to  create  sensations  of  regret  and  censure.  Prince  Maurice 
had  enjoyed  without  restraint  the  fruits  of  his  ambitious  daring. 
His  power  was  uncontrolled  and  unopposed,  but  it  was  publicly 
odious,  and  private  resentments  were  only  withheld  by  fear,  and, 
perhaps,  in  some  measure  by  the  moderation  and  patience  which 
distinguished  the  disciples  of  Arminianism.  In  the  midst,  how- 
ever, of  the  apparent  calm  a  deep  conspiracy  was  formed  against 


DESPOTISM    OF    MAURICE  205 

1619 

the  life  of  the  prince.  William  van  Stoutenburg  and  Regnier  van 
Groeneveldt  were  the  two  sons  of  the  great  pensionary  of  Hol- 
land. The  former  was  the  younger,  but,  of  more  impetuous 
character  than  his  brother,  he  was  the  principal  in  the  plot.  In- 
stead of  any  efforts  to  soften  down  the  hatred  of  this  unfortunate 
family,  these  brothers  had  been  removed  from  their  employments, 
their  property  was  confiscated,  and  despair  soon  urged  them  to 
desperation.  In  such  a  time  of  general  discontent  it  was  easy  to 
find  accomplices.  Seven  or  eight  determined  men  readily  joined 
in  the  plot.  Of  these,  two  were  Catholics,  the  rest  Arminians,  the 
chief  of  whom  was  Henry  Slatius,  a  preacher  of  considerable 
eloquence,  talent,  and  energy.  It  was  first  proposed  to  attack  the 
prince  at  Rotterdam,  but  the  place  was  soon  after  changed  for 
Ryswick,  a  village  near  The  Hague,  and  afterward  celebrated  by 
the  treaty  of  peace  signed  there  and  which  bears  its  name.  Ten 
other  associates  were  soon  engaged  by  the  exertions  of  Slatius. 
These  were  Arminian  artisans  and  sailors,  to  whom  the  actual  exe- 
cution of  the  murder  was  to  be  confided,  and  they  were  persuaded 
that  it  was  planned  with  the  connivance  of  Prince  Frederick 
Henry,  who  was  considered  by  the  Arminians  as  the  secret  partisan 
of  their  sect.  February  6  was  fixed  on  for  the  accomplishment  of 
the  deed.  The  better  to  conceal  the  design,  the  conspirators  agreed 
to  go  unarmed  to  the  place,  where  they  were  to  find  a  box  containing 
pistols  and  poniards  in  a  spot  agreed  upon.  The  death  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange  was  not  the  only  object  intended.  During  the 
confusion  subsequent  to  the  hoped-for  success  of  that  first  blow, 
the  chief  conspirators  intended  to  excite  simultaneous  revolts  at 
Leyden,  Gouda,  and  Rotterdam,  in  which  town  the  Arminians 
were  most  numerous.  A  general  revolution  throughout  Holland 
was  firmly  reckoned  on  as  the  infallible  result,  and  success  was  en- 
thusiastically looked  forward  to. 

But  the  plot,  however,  cautiously  laid  and  resolutely  perse- 
vered in,  was  doomed  to  the  fate  of  many  another,  and  the  horror 
of  a  second  murder  (but  with  far  different  provocation  from  the 
first)  averted  from  the  illustrious  family  to  whom  was  still  destined 
the  glory  of  consolidating  the  country  it  had  formed.  Two  broth- 
ers named  Blansaart,  and  one  Parthy,  having  procured  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money  from  the  leading  conspirators,  repaired  to 
The  Hague,  as  they  asserted,  for  the  purpose  of  betraying  the  plot ; 
but  they  were  forestalled  in  this  purpose.     Four  of  the  sailors  had 


206  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1619-1625 

gone  out  to  Ryswick  the  preceding  evening,  and  laid  the  whole  of 
the  project,  together  with  the  wages  of  their  intended  crime,  be- 
fore the  prince,  who,  it  would  appear,  then  occupied  the  ancient 
chateau,  which  no  longer  exists  at  Ryswick.  The  box  of  arms 
was  found  in  the  place  pointed  out  by  the  informers,  and  measures 
were  instantly  taken  to  arrest  the  various  accomplices.  Several 
were  seized.  Groeneveldt  had  escaped  along  the  coast  disguised  as 
a  fisherman,  and  had  nearly  effected  his  passage  to  England  when 
he  was  recognized  and  arrested  in  the  Island  of  Vlieland.  Slatius 
and  others  were  also  intercepted  in  their  attempts  at  escape.  Stout- 
enburg,  the  most  culpable  of  all,  was  the  most  fortunate — probably 
from  the  energy  of  character  which  marks  the  difference  between  a 
bold  adventurer  and  a  timid  speculator.  He  is  believed  to  have 
passed  from  The  Hague  in  the  same  manner  as  Grotius  quitted  his 
prison,  and,  by  the  aid  of  a  faithful  servant,  he  accomplished  his 
escape  through  various  perils,  and  finally  reached  Brussels,  where 
the  Archduchess  Isabella  took  him  under  her  special  protection. 
He  for  several  years  made  efforts  to  be  allowed  to  return  to  Hol- 
land, but  finding  them  hopeless,  even  after  the  death  of  Maurice, 
he  embraced  the  Catholic  religion  and  obtained  the  command  of  a 
troop  of  Spanish  cavalry,  at  the  head  of  which  he  made  incursions 
into  his  native  country,  carrying  before  him  a  black  flag  with  the 
effigy  of  a  death's-head,  to  announce  the  mournful  vengeance  which 
he  came  to  execute. 

Fifteen  persons  were  executed  for  the  conspiracy.  If,  ever 
mercy  was  becoming  to  a  man,  it  would  have  been  preeminently  so 
to  Maurice  on  this  occasion;  but  he  was  inflexible  as  adamant. 
The  mother,  the  wife,  and  the  son  of  Groeneveldt  threw  themselves 
at  his  feet,  imploring  pardon.  Prayers,  tears,  and  sobs  were  alike 
ineffectual.  It  is  even  said  that  Maurice  asked  the  wretched 
mother  why  she  begged  mercy  for  her  son,  having  refused  to  do  as 
much  for  her  husband?  To  which  cruel  question  she  is  reported 
to  have  made  the  sublime  answer :  "  Because  my  son  is  guilty,  and 
my  husband  was  not." 

These  bloody  executions  caused  a  deep  sentiment  of  gloom. 
The  conspiracy  excited  more  pity  for  the  victims  than  horror  for 
the  intended  crime.  Maurice,  from  being  the  idol  of  his  country- 
men, was  now  become  an  object  of  their  fear  and  dislike.  When 
he  moved  from  town  to  town  the  people  no  longer  hailed  him  with 
acclamations,  and  even  the  common  tokens  of  outward  respect  were 


DESPOTISM    OF    MAURICE  207 

1619-1625 

at  times  withheld.  The  Spaniards,  taking  advantage  of  the  in- 
ternal weakness  consequent  on  this  state  of  public  feeling  in  the 
states,  made  repeated  incursions  into  the  provinces,  which  were 
now  united  but  in  title,  not  in  spirit.  Spinola  was  once  more  in 
the  field,  and  had  invested  the  important  town  of  Breda,  which 
was  the  patrimonial  inheritance  of  the  princes  of  Orange.  Mau- 
rice was  oppressed  with  anxiety  and  regret,  and,  for  the  sake  of  his 
better  feelings,  it  may  be  hoped,  with  remorse.  He  could  effect 
nothing  against  his  rival,  and  he  saw  his  own  laurels  withering 
from  his  care-worn  brow.  The  only  hope  left  of  obtaining  the  so 
much  wanted  supplies  of  money  was  in  the  completion  of  a  new 
treaty  with  France  and  England.  Cardinal  Richelieu,  desirous  of 
setting  bounds  to  the  ambition  and  the  successes  of  the  house  of 
Austria,  readily  came  into  the  views  of  the  states,  and  an  obliga- 
tion for  a  loan  of  1,200,000  livres  during  the  year  1624  and 
1,000,000  more  for  each  of  the  two  succeeding  years  was  granted 
by  the  King  of  France,  on  condition  that  the  republic  made  no  new 
truce  with  Spain  without  his  mediation. 

An  alliance  nearly  similar  was  at  the  same  time  concluded 
with  England.  The  failure  of  his  son's  intended  marriage  with  the 
Infanta  of  Spain  had  opened  the  eyes  of  King  James  to  the  way  in 
which  he  was  despised  by  those  who  seemed  so  much  to  respect 
him.  He  was  highly  indignant,  and  undertook  to  revenge  himself 
by  aiding  the  republic.  He  agreed  to  furnish  6000  men,  and  sup- 
ply the  funds  for  their  pay,  with  a  provision  for  repayment  by  the 
states  at  the  conclusion  of  a  peace  with  Spain. 

Prince  Maurice  had  no  opportunity  of  reaping  the  expected 
advantages  from  these  treaties.  Baffled  in  all  his  efforts  for  re- 
lieving Breda,  and  being  unsuccessful  in  a  new  attempt  upon  Ant- 
werp, he  returned  to  The  Hague,  where  a  lingering  illness,  that 
had  for  some  time  exhausted  him,  terminated  in  his  death  on 
April  23,  1625,  in  his  fifty-ninth  year.  Most  writers  attribute 
this  event  to  agitation  at  being  unable  to  relieve  Breda  from  the 
attack  of  Spinola.  It  is  in  any  case  absurd  to  suppose  that  the 
loss  of  a  single  town  could  have  produced  so  fatal  an  effect  on  one 
whose  life  had  been  an  almost  continual  game  of  the  chances  of 
war.  But  cause  enough  for  Maurice's  death  may  be  found  in  the 
wearing  effects  of  thirty  years  of  active  military  service,  and  the 
more  wasting  ravages  of  half  as  many  of  domestic  despotism. 


Chapter  XVIII 

FREDERICK  HENRY  AND  THE  PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA 

I 625- I 648 

FREDERICK  HENRY  succeeded  to  almost  all  his  brother's 
titles  and  employments,  and  found  his  new  dignities 
clogged  with  an  accumulation  of  difficulties  sufficient  to 
appall  the  most  determined  spirit.  Everything  seemed  to  justify 
alarm  and  despondency.  If  the  affairs  of  the  republic  in  India 
wore  an  aspect  of  prosperity,  those  in  Europe  presented  a  picture 
of  past  disaster  and  approaching  peril.  Disunion  and  discontent, 
an  almost  insupportable  weight  of  taxation,  and  the  disputes  of 
which  it  was  the  fruitful  source,  formed  the  subjects  of  internal  ill. 
Abroad  was  to  be  seen  navigation  harassed  and  trammeled  by  the 
pirates  of  Dunkirk,  and  the  almost  defenseless  frontiers  of  the 
republic  exposed  to  the  irruptions  of  the  enemy.  The  King  of 
Denmark,  who  endeavored  to  make  head  against  the  imperialist 
and  Spanish  forces,  was  beaten  by  Tilly  and  made  to  tremble  for 
the  safety  of  his  own  states.  England  did  nothing  toward  the 
common  cause  of  Protestantism,  in  consequence  of  internal  trou- 
bles, and  civil  dissensions  for  a  while  disabled  France  from 
resuming  the  system  of  Henry  IV.  for  humbling  the  house  of 
Austria. 

Frederick  Henry  was  at  this  period  in  his  forty-second  year. 
His  military  reputation  was  well  established;  he  soon  proved  his 
political  talents.  He  commenced  his  career  by  a  total  change  in 
the  tone  of  government  on  the  subject  of  sectarian  differences. 
He  exercised  several  acts  of  clemency  in  favor  of  the  imprisoned 
and  exiled  Arminians  at  the  same  time  that  he  upheld  the  domi- 
nant religion.  By  these  measures  he  conciliated  all  parties,  and  by 
degrees  the  fierce  spirit  of  intolerance  became  subdued.  The  foreign 
relations  of  the  United  Provinces  now  presented  the  anomalous 
policy  of  a  fleet  furnished  by  the  French  king,  manned  by  rigid 
Calvinists,  and  commanded  by  a  grandson  of  Admiral  Coligny, 
for  the  purpose  of  combating  the  remainder  of  the  French  Hugue- 
nots, whom  they  considered  as  brothers  in  religion,  though  political 

S08 


PEACE     OF    WESTPHALIA  «09 

1625-1628 

foes;  and  during  the  joint  expedition  which  was  undertaken  by 
the  alHed  French  and  Dutch  troops  against  Rochelle,  the  strong- 
hold of  Protestantism,  the  preachers  of  Holland  put  up  prayers  for 
the  protection  of  those  whom  their  army  was  marching  to  destroy. 
The  states-general,  ashamed  of  this  unpopular  union,  recalled  their 
fleet,  after  some  severe  fighting  with  that  of  the  Huguenots.  Car- 
dinal Richelieu  and  the  King  of  France  were  for  a  time  furious  in 
their  displeasure;  but  interests  of  state  overpowered  individual 
resentments,  and  no  rupture  took  place. 

Charles  I.  had  now  succeeded  his  father  on  the  English  throne. 
He  renewed  the  treaty  with  the  republic,  who  furnished  him  with 
twenty  ships  to  assist  his  own  formidable  fleet  in  his  war  against 
Spain.  Frederick  Henry  had,  soon  after  his  succession  to  the 
chief  command,  commenced  an  active  course  of  martial  operations, 
and  was  successful  in  almost  all  his  enterprises.  He  took  Grol  and 
several  other  towns,  and  it  was  hoped  that  his  successes  would 
have  been  pushed  forward  upon  a  wider  field  of  action  against  the 
imperial  arms,  but  the  states  prudently  resolved  to  act  on  the  de- 
fensive by  land,  choosing  the  sea  for  the  theater  of  their  more 
active  operations.  All  the  hopes  of  a  powerful  confederation 
against  the  emperor  and  the  King  of  Spain  seemed  frustrated  by 
the  war  which  now  broke  out  between  France  and  England.  The 
states-general  contrived  by  great  prudence  to  maintain  a  strict 
neutrality  in  this  quarrel.  They  even  succeeded  in  mediating  a 
peace  between  the  rival  powers,  which  was  concluded  the  following 
year;  and  in  the  meantime  they  obtained  a  more  astonishing  and 
important  series  of  triumphs  against  the  Spanish  fleets  than  had 
yet  been  witnessed  in  naval  conflicts. 

The  West  India  Company  had  confided  the  command  of  their 
fleet  to  Peter  Heyn,  a  most  intrepid  and  intelligent  sailor,  who 
proved  his  own  merits  and  the  sagacity  of  his  employers  on  many 
occasions,  two  of  them  of  an  extraordinary  nature.  In  1627  he 
defeated  a  fleet  of  twenty-six  vessels  with  a  much  inferior  force. 
In  the  following  year  he  had  the  still  more  brilliant  good  fortune, 
near  Havana,  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  in  an  engagement  with  the 
great  Spanish  armament  called  the  Silver  Fleet,  to  indicate  the 
immense  wealth  which  it  contained.  The  booty  was  safely  carried 
to  Amsterdam,  and  the  whole  of  the  treasure,  in  money,  precious 
stones,  indigo,  etc.,  was  estimated  at  the  value  of  twelve  million 
florins.      This  was  indeed  a  victory  worth  gaining,  won  almost 


210  HOLLAND     AND    BELGIUM 

1629-1631 

without  bloodshed,  and  raising  the  republic  far  above  the  manifold 
difficulties  by  which  it  had  been  embarrassed.  Heyn  perished  in 
the  following  year  in  a  combat  with  some  of  the  pirates  of  Dunkirk 
' — ^those  terrible  freebooters  whose  name  was  a  watchword  of  terror 
during  the  whole  continuance  of  the  war. 

The  year  1629  brought  three  formidable  armies  at  once  to  the 
frontiers  of  the  republic,  and  caused  a  general  dismay  all  through 
the  United  Provinces;  but  the  immense  treasures  taken  from  the 
Spaniards  enabled  them  to  make  preparations  suitable  to  the  dan- 
ger, and  Frederick  Henry,  supported  by  his  cousin,  William  of 
Nassau,  his  natural  brother,  Justin,  and  other  brave  and  exper- 
ienced officers,  defeated  every  effort  of  the  enemy.  He  took  many 
towns  in  rapid  succession,  and  finally  forced  the  Spaniards  to 
abandon  all  notion  of  invading  the  territories  of  the  republic.  De- 
prived of  the  powerful  talents  of  Spinola,  who  was  called  to  com- 
mand the  Spanish  troops  in  Italy,  the  armies  of  the  archduchess, 
under  the  Count  of  Berg,  were  not  able  to  cope  with  the  genius  of 
the  Prince  of  Orange.  The  consequence  was  the  renewal  of 
negotiations  for  a  second  truce.  But  these  were  received  on  the 
part  of  the  republic  with  a  burst  of  opposition.  All  parties  seemed 
decided  on  that  point,  and  every  interest,  however  opposed  on 
minor  questions,  combined  to  give  a  positive  negative  on  this. 

The  gratitude  of  the  country  for  the  services  of  Frederick 
Henry  induced  the  provinces  of  which  he  was  stadtholder  to  grant 
the  reversion  in  this  title  to  his  son,  a  child  of  three  years,  and 
this  dignity  had  every  chance  of  becoming  as  absolute  as  it  was 
now  pronounced  almost  hereditary,  by  the  means  of  an  army  of 
120,000  men  devoted  to  their  chief.  However,  few  military  oc- 
currences took  place,  the  sea  being  still  chosen  as  the  element  best 
suited  to  the  present  enterprises  of  the  republic.  In  the  widely 
distant  settlements  of  Brazil  and  Batavia  the  Dutch  were  equally 
successful,  and  the  East  and  West  India  companies  acquired  emi- 
nent power  and  increasing  solidity. 

The  year  163 1  was  signalized  by  an  expedition  into  Flanders 
consisting  of  18,000  men,  intended  against  Dunkirk,  but  hastily 
abandoned,  in  spite  of  every  probability  of  success,  by  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  states-general,  who  accompanied  the  army  and 
thwarted  all  the  ardor  and  vigor  of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  But 
another  great  naval  victory  in  the  narrow  seas  of  Zealand  recom- 
pensed the  disappointments  of  this  inglorious  affair. 


PEACE     OF     WESTPHALIA  211 

163M635 

The  splendid  victories  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  against  the  im- 
perial arms  in  Germany  changed  the  whole  face  of  European 
affairs.  Protestantism  began  once  more  to  raise  its  head,  and  the 
important  conquests  by  Frederick  Henry  of  almost  all  the  strong 
places  on  the  Meuse,  including  Maestricht,  the  strongest  of  all, 
gave  the  United  Provinces  their  ample  share  in  the  glories  of  the 
war.  The  death  of  the  Archduchess  Isabella,  which  took  place  at 
Brussels  in  the  year  1633,  added  considerably  to  the  difficulties  of 
Spain  in  the  Belgian  provinces.  The  defection  of  the  Count  of 
Berg,  the  chief  general  of  their  armies,  who  was  actuated  by  re- 
sentment on  the  appointment  of  the  Marquis  of  St.  Croix  over  his 
head,  threw  everything  into  confusion,  in  exposing  a  widespread 
confederacy  among  the  nobility  of  these  provinces  to  erect  them- 
selves into  an  independent  republic,  strengthened  by  a  perpetual 
alliance  with  the  United  Provinces  against  the  power  of  Spain. 
After  the  death  of  Isabella  the  Duke  of  Brabanqon  was  arrested. 
The  Prince  of  Epinoi  and  the  Duke  of  Burnonville  made  their  es- 
cape, and  the  Duke  of  Aerschot,  who  was  arrested  in  Spain,  was 
soon  liberated,  in  consideration  of  some  discoveries  into  the  nature 
of  the  plot.  An  armistice,  published  in  1634,  threw  this  whole 
affair  into  complete  oblivion. 

The  King  of  Spain  appointed  his  brother  Ferdinand,  a  car- 
dinal and  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  to  the  dignity  of  governor-general 
of  the  Netherlands.  He  repaired  to  Germany  at  the  head  of 
17,000  men,  and  bore  his  share  in  the  victory  of  Nordlingen,  after 
which  he  hastened  to  the  Netherlands  and  made  his  entry  into 
Brussels  in  1634.  Richelieu  had  hitherto  only  combated  the  house 
of  Austria  in  these  countries  by  negotiation  and  intrigue,  but  he 
now  entered  warmly  into  the  proposals  made  by  Holland  for  a 
treaty  offensive  and  defensive  between  Louis  XIII.  and  the  re- 
public. By  a  treaty  soon  after  concluded  (February  8,  1635), 
the  King  of  France  engaged  to  invade  the  Belgian  provinces  with 
an  army  of  30,000  men,  in  concert  with  a  Dutch  force  of  equal 
number.  It  was  agreed  that  if  Belgium  would  consent  to  break 
from  the  Spanish  yoke  it  was  to  be  erected  into  a  free  state ;  if,  on 
the  contrary,  it  would  not  cooperate  for  its  own  freedom,  France 
and  Holland  were  to  dismember  and  to  divide  it  equally. 

The  plan  of  these  combined  measures  was  soon  acted  on. 
The  French  army  took  the  field  under  the  command  of  the  Marshals 
De  Chatillon  and  De  Breze  and  defeated  the  Spaniards  in  a  bloody 


212  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1635-1637 

battle  near  Avein,  in  the  province  of  Luxemburg,  on  May  20, 
1635,  with  the  loss  of  4000  men.  The  victors  soon  made  a  junc- 
tion with  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  the  towns  of  Tirlemont,  St. 
Trond,  and  some  others  were  quickly  reduced.  The  former  of 
these  places  was  taken  by  assault  and  pillaged  with  circumstances 
of  cruelty  that  recall  the  horrors  of  the  early  transactions  of  the 
war.  The  Prince  of  Orange  was  forced  to  punish  severely  the 
authors  of  these  offenses.  The  consequences  of  this  event  were 
highly  injurious  to  the  allies.  A  spirit  of  fierce  resistance  was 
excited  throughout  the  invaded  provinces.  Louvain  set  the  first 
example.  The  citizens  and  students  took  arms  for  its  defense, 
and  the  combined  forces  of  France  and  Holland  were  repulsed  and 
forced  by  want  of  supplies  to  abandon  the  siege  and  rapidly  retreat. 
The  Prince-Cardinal,  as  Ferdinand  was  called,  took  advantage  of 
this  reverse  to  press  the  retiring  French,  recovered  several  towns, 
and  gained  all  the  advantages  as  well  as  glory  of  the  campaign. 
The  remains  of  the  French  army,  reduced  by  continual  combats, 
and  still  more  by  sickness,  finally  embarked  at  Rotterdam  to  return 
to  France  in  the  ensuing  spring,  a  sad  contrast  to  its  brilliant 
appearance  at  the  commencement  of  the  campaign. 

The  military  events  for  several  ensuing  years  present  nothing 
of  sufficient  interest  to  induce  us  to  record  them  in  detail.  A  per- 
petual succession  of  sieges  and  skirmishes  afford  a  monotonous 
picture  of  isolated  courage  and  skill,  but  we  see  none  of  those  great 
conflicts  which  bring  out  the  genius  of  opposing  generals  and  show 
war  in  its  grand  results  as  the  decisive  means  of  enslaving  or 
emancipating  mankind.  The  Prince-Cardinal,  one  of  the  many 
who  on  this  bloody  theater  displayed  consummate  military  talents, 
incessantly  employed  himself  in  incursions  into  the  bordering 
provinces  of  France,  ravaged  Picardy,  and  filled  Paris  with  fear 
and  trembling.  He,  however,  reaped  no  new  laurels  when  he 
came  into  contact  with  Frederick  Henry,  who  on  almost  every 
occasion,  particularly  that  of  the  siege  of  Breda  in  1637,  carried 
his  object  in  spite  of  all  opposition.  The  triumphs  of  war  were 
balanced,  but  Spain  and  the  Belgian  provinces,  so  long  upheld 
by  the  talent  of  the  governor-general,  had  gradually  become  ex- 
hausted. The  revolution  in  Portugal  and  the  succession  of  the 
Duke  of  Braganza,  under  the  title  of  John  IV.,  to  the  throne  of  his 
ancestors  struck  a  fatal  blow  to  the  power  of  Spain.  A  strict 
alliance  was  concluded  between  the  new  monarch  of  France  and 


PEACE     OF     WESTPHALIA  213 

1637-1641 

Holland,  and  hostilities  against  the  common  enemy  were  on  all 
sides  vigorously  continued. 

The  successes  of  the  republic  at  sea  and  in  their  distant  enter- 
prises were  continual,  and  in  some  instances  brilliant.  Brazil  was 
gradually  falling  into  the  power  of  the  West  India  Company.  The 
East  India  possessions  were  secure.  The  great  victory  of  Van 
Tromp,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Battle  of  the  Downs,  from  being 
fought  off  the  coast  of  England,  on  October  21,  1639,  raised  the 
naval  reputation  of  Holland  as  high  as  it  could  well  be  carried. 
Fifty  ships  taken,  burned,  and  sunk  were  the  proofs  of  their  ad- 
miral's triumph,  and  the  Spanish  navy  never  recovered  the  loss. 
The  victory  was  celebrated  throughout  Europe,  and  Van  Tromp 
was  the  hero  of  the  day.  The  King  of  England  was,  however, 
highly  indignant  at  the  hardihood  with  which  the  Dutch  admiral 
broke  through  the  etiquette  of  territorial  respect  and  destroyed  his 
country's  bitter  foes  under  the  very  sanction  of  English  neutrality. 
But  the  subjects  of  Charles  I.  did  not  partake  their  monarch's  feel- 
ings. They  had  no  sympathy  with  arbitrary  and  tyrannic  govern- 
ment, and  their  joy  at  the  misfortune  of  their  old  enemies,  the 
Spaniards,  gave  a  fair  warning  of  the  spirit  which  afterward 
proved  so  fatal  to  the  infatuated  king,  who  on  this  occasion  would 
have  protected  and  aided  them. 

In  an  unsuccessful  enterprise  in  Flanders,  Count  Henry  Casi- 
mir  of  Nassau  was  mortally  wounded,  adding  another  to  the  list  of 
those  of  that  illustrious  family  whose  lives  were  lost  in  the  service 
of  their  country.  His  brother.  Count  William  Frederick,  succeeded 
him  in  his  office  of  stadtholder  of  Friesland,  but  the  same  dignity  in 
the  provinces  of  Groningen  and  Drenthe  devolved  on  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  The  latter  had  conceived  the  desire  of  a  royal  alliance 
for  his  son  William.  Charles  I.  readily  assented  to  the  proposal 
of  the  states-general,  that  this  young  prince  should  receive  the  hand 
of  his  daughter  Mary.  Embassies  were  exchanged,  the  conditions 
of  the  contract  agreed  on,  but  it  was  not  till  two  years  later  that 
Van  Tromp,  with  an  escort  of  twenty  ships,  conducted  the  princess, 
then  twelve  years  old,  to  the  country  of  her  future  husband.  The 
republic  did  not  view  with  an  eye  quite  favorable  this  advancing 
aggrandizement  of  the  house  of  Orange.  Frederick  Henry  had 
shortly  before  been  dignified  by  the  King  of  France,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Richelieu,  with  the  title  of  "  highness,"  instead  of  the  in- 
ferior one  of  "  excellency,"  and  the  states-general,  jealous  of  this 


«14  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1641-1643 

distinction  granted  to  their  chief  magistrate,  adopted  for  them- 
selves the  sounding  appellation  of  "  high  and  mighty  lords."  The 
Prince  of  Orange,  whatever  might  have  been  his  private  views  of 
ambition,  had,  however,  the  prudence  to  silence  all  suspicion  by  the 
mild  and  moderate  use  which  he  made  of  the  power  which  he 
might  perhaps  have  wished  to  increase,  but  never  attempted  to 
abuse. 

On  November  9,  1641,  the  Prince-Cardinal  Ferdinand  died  at 
Brussels  in  his  thirty-third  year,  another  instance  of  those  who 
were  cut  off  in  the  very  vigor  of  manhood  from  worldly  dignities 
and  the  exercise  of  the  painful  and  inauspicious  duties  of  governor- 
general  of  the  Netherlands.  Don  Francisco  de  Mello,  a  nobleman 
of  highly  reputed  talents,  was  the  next  who  obtained  this  onerous 
situation.  He  commenced  his  governorship  by  a  succession  of 
military  operations,  by  which,  like  most  of  his  predecessors,  he  is 
alone  distinguished.  Acts  of  civil  administration  are  scarcely 
noticed  by  the  historians  of  these  men.  Not  one  of  them,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Archduke  Albert,  seems  to  have  valued  the  in- 
ternal interests  of  the  government,  and  he  alone,  perhaps,  because 
they  were  declared  and  secured  as  his  own.  De  Mello,  after  taking 
some  towns  and  defeating  the  Marshal  de  Guiche  in  the  battle  of 
Hannecourt,  tarnished  all  his  fame  by  the  great  faults  which  he 
committed  in  the  famous  battle  of  Rocroy.  The  Duke  of  Enghien, 
then  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  subsequently  so  celebrated  as 
the  great  Conde,  completely  defeated  De  Mello,  and  nearly  annihi- 
lated the  Spanish  and  Walloon  infantry.  The  military  operations 
of  the  Dutch  army  were  this  year  only  remarkable  by  the  gallant 
conduct  of  Prince  William,  son  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who,  not 
yet  seventeen  years  of  age,  defeated  near  Hulst,  under  the  eyes  of 
his  father,  a  Spanish  detachment  in  a  very  warm  skirmish. 

Considerable  changes  were  now  insensibly  operating  in  the 
policy  of  Europe.  Cardinal  Richelieu  had  finished  his  dazzling 
but  tempestuous  career  of  government,  in  which  the  hand  of  death 
arrested  him  on  December  4,  1642.  Louis  XIIL  soon  followed  to 
the  grave  him  who  was  rather  his  master  than  his  minister.  Anne 
of  Austria  was  declared  regent  during  the  minority  of  her  son, 
Louis  XIV.,  then  only  five  years  of  age,  and  Cardinal  Mazarin  suc- 
ceeded to  the  station  from  which  death  alone  had  power  to  re- 
move his  predecessor. 

The  civil  wars  in  England  now  broke  out,  and  their  terrible 


PEACE     OF    WESTPHALIA  215 

1642-1644 

results  seemed  to  promise  to  the  republic  the  undisturbed  sov- 
ereignty of  the  seas.  The  Prince  of  Orange  received  with  great 
distinction  the  mother-in-law  of  his  son,  when  she  came  to  Holland 
under  pretext  of  conducting  her  daughter,  but  her  principal  pur- 
pose was  to  obtain,  by  the  sale  of  the  crown  jewels  and  the  assist- 
ance of  Frederick  Henry,  funds  for  the  supply  of  her  unfortunate 
husband's  cause.  The  prince  and  several  private  individuals  con- 
tributed largely  in  money,  and  several  experienced  officers  passed 
over  to  serve  in  the  royalist  army  of  England.  The  provincial 
states  of  Holland,  however,  sympathizing  wholly  with  Parliament, 
remonstrated  with  the  stadtholder,  and  the  Dutch  colonists  encour- 
aged the  hostile  efforts  of  their  brethren,  the  Puritans  of  Scotland, 
by  all  the  absurd  exhortations  of  fanatic  zeal.  Boswell,  the  Eng- 
lish resident  in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  Strickland,  the  ambas- 
sador from  Parliament,  kept  up  a  constant  succession  of  complaints 
and  remonstrances  on  occasion  of  every  incident  which  seemed  to 
balance  the  conduct  of  the  republic  in  the  great  question  of  English 
politics.  Considerable  differences  existed.  The  province  of  Hol- 
land and  some  others  leaned  toward  the  Parliament,  the  Prince  of 
Orange  favored  the  king,  and  the  states-general  endeavored  to 
continue  neutral. 

The  struggle  was  still  furiously  maintained  in  Germany. 
Generals  of  the  first  order  of  military  talent  were  continually  ap- 
pearing, and  successively  eclipsing  each  other  by  their  brilliant 
actions:  Gustavus  Adolphus  was  killed  in  the  midst  of  his 
glorious  career,  at  the  battle  of  Lutzen ;  Bernard  of  Saxe- Weimar 
succeeded  to  the  command,  and  proved  himself  worthy  of  the 
place;  Tilly  and  the  celebrated  Wallenstein  were  no  longer  on  the 
scene.  The  Emperor  Ferdinand  H.  was  dead,  and  his  son,  Ferdi- 
nand ni.,  saw  his  victorious  enemies  threaten,  at  last,  the  existence 
of  the  empire.  Everything  tended  to  make  peace  necessary  to 
some  of  the  contending  powers,  as  it  was  at  length  desirable  for  all. 
Sweden  and  Denmark  were  engaged  in  a  bloody  and  wasteful  con- 
flict. The  United  Provinces  sent  an  embassy,  in  the  month  of 
June,  1644,  to  each  of  those  powers,  and  by  a  vigorous  demonstra- 
tion of  their  resolution  to  assist  Sweden,  if  Denmark  proved  re- 
fractory, a  peace  was  signed  the  following  year,  which  terminated 
the  disputes  of  the  rival  nations. 

Negotiations  were  now  opened  at  Munster  between  the  several 
belligerents.     The  republic  was,  however,  the  last  to  send  its  pleni- 


216  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1644-1647 

potentiaries  there,  having  signed  a  new  treaty  with  France,  by 
which  they  mutually  stipulated  to  make  no  peace  independent  of 
each  other.  It  behooved  the  republic,  however,  to  contribute  as 
much  as  possible  toward  the  general  object,  for,  among  other 
strong  motives  to  that  line  of  conduct,  the  finances  of  Holland  were 
in  a  state  nothing  short  of  deplorable. 

Every  year  brought  the  necessity  of  a  new  loan,  and  the 
public  debt  of  the  provinces  now  amounted  to  150,000,000  florins, 
bearing  interest  at  6^  per  cent.  Considerable  alarm  was  excited  at 
the  progress  of  the  French  army  in  the  Belgian  provinces,  and  es- 
cape from  the  tyranny  of  Spain  seemed  only  to  lead  to  the  danger 
of  submission  to  a  nation  too  powerful  and  too  close  at  hand  not 
to  be  dangerous,  either  as  a  foe  or  an  ally.  These  fears  were  in- 
creased by  the  knowledge  that  Cardinal  Mazarin  projected  a 
marriage  between  Louis  XIV.  and  the  Infanta  of  Spain,  with  the 
Belgian  provinces,  or  Spanish  Netherlands,  as  they  were  now 
called,  for  her  marriage  portion.  This  project  was  confided  to  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  under  the  seal  of  secrecy,  and  he  was  offered 
the  marquisate  of  Antwerp  as  the  price  of  his  influence  toward 
effecting  the  plan.  The  prince  revealed  the  whole  to  the  states- 
general.  Great  fermentation  was  excited — the  stadtholder  himself 
was  blamed,  and  suspected  of  complicity  with  the  designs  of  the 
cardinal.  Frederick  Henry  was  deeply  hurt  at  this  want  of  confi- 
dence, and  the  injurious  publications  which  openly  assailed  his 
honor  in  a  point  where  he  felt  himself  entitled  to  praise  instead  of 
suspicion. 

The  French  labored  to  remove  the  impression  which  this  affair 
excited  in  the  republic,  but  the  states-general  felt  themselves  justi- 
fied by  the  intriguing  policy  of  Mazarin  in  entering  into  a  secret 
negotiation  with  the  King  of  Spain,  who  offered  very  favorable 
conditions.  The  negotiations  were  considerably  advanced  by  the 
marked  disposition  evinced  by  the  Prince  of  Orange  to  hasten  the 
establishment  of  peace.  Yet  at  this  very  period,  and  while  anx- 
iously wishing  this  great  object,  he  could  not  resist  the  desire  for 
another  campaign,  one  more  exploit,  to  signalize  the  epoch  at 
which  he  finally  placed  his  sword  in  the  scabbard.  Frederick 
Henry  was  essentially  a  soldier,  with  all  the  spirit  of  his  race,  and 
this  evidence  of  the  ruling  passion,  while  he  touched  the  verge  of 
the  grave,  is  one  of  the  most  striking  points  of  his  character.  He 
accordingly  took  the  field,  but  with  a  constitution  broken  by  a 


PEACE    OF    WESTPHALIA  217 

1647-1648 

lingering  disease,  he  was  little  fitted  to  accomplish  any  feat  worthy 
of  his  splendid  reputation.  He  failed  in  an  attempt  on  Venlo,  and 
another  on  Antwerp,  and  retired  to  The  Hague,  where  for  som© 
months  he  rapidly  declined.  On  March  14,  1647,  he  expired,  in 
his  sixty-third  year,  leaving  behind  him  a  character  of  unblemished 
integrity,  prudence,  toleration,  and  valor.  He  was  not  of  that  im- 
petuous stamp  which  leads  men  to  heroic  deeds  and  brings  danger 
to  the  states  whose  liberty  is  compromised  by  their  ambition.  He 
was  a  striking  contrast  to  his  brother  Maurice,  and  more  resembled 
his  father  in  many  of  those  calmer  qualities  of  the  mind  which 
make  men  more  beloved  without  lessening  their  claims  to  admira- 
tion. Frederick  Henry  had  the  honor*  of  completing  the  glorious 
task  which  William  began  and  Maurice  followed  up.  He  saw  the 
oppression  they  had  combated  now  humbled  and  overthrown,  and 
he  forms  the  third  in  a  sequence  of  family  renown,  the  most  sur- 
prising and  the  least  checkered  afforded  by  the  annals  of  Europe. 

William  H.  succeeded  his  father  in  his  dignities,  and  his 
ardent  spirit  longed  to  rival  him  in  war.  He  turned  his  endeavors 
to  thwart  all  the  efforts  for  peace.  But  the  interests  of  the  nation 
and  the  dying  wishes  of  Frederick  Henry  were  of  too  powerful  in- 
fluence with  the-  states  to  be  overcome  by  the  martial  yearnings  of 
an  inexperienced  youth.  The  negotiations  were  pressed  forward, 
and,  despite  the  complaints,  the  murmurs,  and  the  intrigues  of 
France,  the  Treaty  of  Munster  was  finally  signed  by  the  respective 
ambassadors  of  the  United  Provinces  and  Spain  on  January  30, 
1648.  This  celebrated  treaty  contains  seventy-nine  articles.  Three 
points  were  of  main  and  vital  importance  to  the  republic:  the  first 
acknowledges  an  ample  and  entire  recognition  of  the  sovereignty 
of  the  states-general  and  a  renunciation  forever  of  all  claims  on 
the  part  of  Spain ;  the  second  confirms  the  rights  of  trade  and  navi- 
gation in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  with  the  possession  of  the 
various  countries  and  stations  then  actually  occupied  by  the  con- 
tracting powers;  the  third  guarantees  a  like  possession  of  all  the 
provinces  and  towns  of  the  Netherlands,  as  they  then  stood  in  their 
respective  occupation — a  clause  highly  favorable  to  the  republic, 
which  had  conquered  several  considerable  places  in  Brabant  and 
Flanders.  The  ratifications  of  the  treaty  were  exchanged  at 
Munster  with  great  solemnity  on  May  15,  following  the  signature; 
the  peace  was  published  in  that  town  and  in  Osnaburg  on  the  19th, 
and  in  all  the  different  states  of  the  King  of  Spain  and  the  United 


218 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 


1648 

Provinces  as  soon  as  the  joyous  intelligence  could  reach  such 
various  and  widely  separated  destinations.  Thus,  after  eighty 
years  of  unparalleled  warfare,  only  interrupted  by  the  truce  of 
1609,  during  which  hostilities  had  not  ceased  in  the  Indies,  the  new 
republic  rose  from  the  horrors  of  civil  war  and  foreign  tyranny  to 
its  uncontested  rank  as  a  free  and  independent  state  among  the 


most  powerful  nations  of  Europe.  No  country  had  ever  done 
more  for  glory,  and  the  result  of  its  efforts  was  the  irrevocable 
guarantee  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  the  great  aim  and  end  of 
civilization. 

The  King  of  France  alone  had  reason  to  complain  of  this 
treaty,  and  his  resentment  was  strongly  pronounced.  But  the 
United  Provinces  flung  back  the  reproaches  of  his  ambassador  on 
Cardinal  Mazarin,  and  the  anger  of  the  monarch  was  smothered 
by  the  policy  of  the  minister. 


PEACE    DF    WESTPHALIA  «19 

1648 

The  internal  tranquillity  of  the  republic  was  secured  from  all 
future  alarm  by  the  conclusion  of  the  general  Peace  of  Westphalia, 
definitely  signed  October  24,  1648.  This  treaty  was  long  consid- 
ered not  only  as  the  fundamental  law  of  the  empire,  but  as  the 
basis  of  the  political  system  of  Europe.  As  numbers  of  conflicting 
interests  were  reconciled,  Germanic  liberty  secured,  and  a  just 
equilibrium  established  between  the  Catholics  and  Protestants, 
France  and  Sweden  obtained  great  advantages;  and  the  various 
princes  of  the  empire  saw  their  possessions  regulated  and  secured, 
at  the  same  time  that  the  powers  of  the  emperor  were  strictly 
defined. 

This  great  epoch  in  European  history  naturally  marks  the  con- 
clusion of  another  in  that  of  the  Netherlands,  and  this  period  of 
general  repose  allows  a  brief  consideration  of  the  progress  of  arts, 
sciences,  and  manners  during  the  half  century  just  now  completed. 

The  Archdukes  Albert  and  Isabella  during  the  whole  course 
of  their  sovereignty  labored  to  remedy  the  abuses  which  had 
crowded  the  administration  of  justice.  The  "perpetual  edict," 
in  161 1,  regulated  the  form  of  judicial  proceedings,  but  several 
provinces  received  new  charters,  by  which  the  privileges  of  the 
people  were  placed  on  a  footing  in  harmony  with  their  wants. 
Anarchy,  in  short,  gave  place  to  regular  government,  and  the  arch- 
dukes, in  swearing  to  maintain  the  celebrated  pact  known  by  the 
name  of  the  "  Joyeuse  Entree,"  did  all  in  their  power  to  satisfy 
their  subjects,  while  securing  their  own  authority.  The  piety  of 
the  archdukes  gave  an  example  to  all  classes.  This,  although 
degenerating  in  the  vulgar  to  superstition  and  bigotry,  formed  a 
severe  check,  which  allowed  their  rulers  to  restrain  popular  excess 
and  enabled  them  in  the  internal  quiet  of  their  despotism  to  soften 
the  people  by  the  encouragement  of  the  sciences  and  arts.  Medicine, 
astronomy,  and  mathematics  made  prodigious  progress  during  this 
epoch.  Several  eminent  men  flourished  in  the  Netherlands.  But 
the  glory  of  others,  in  countries  presenting  a  wider  theater  for  their 
renown,  in  many  instances  eclipsed  them;  and  the  inventors  of 
new  methods  and  systems  in  anatomy,  optics,  and  music  were 
almost  forgotten  in  the  splendid  improvements  of  their  followers. 

In  literature,  Hugo  de  Groot,  or  Grotius  (his  Latinized  name, 
by  which  he  is  better  known),  was  the  most  brilliant  star  of  his 
country  or  his  age,  as  Erasmus  was  of  that  which  preceded.  He 
was  at  once  eminent  as  jurist,  poet,  theologian,  and  historian.    His 


220  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1600-1648 

erudition  was  immense,  and  he  brought  it  to  bear  in  his  political 
capacity,  as  ambassador  from  Sweden  to  the  court  of  France,  when 
the  violence  of  party  and  the  injustice  of  power  condemned  him  to 
perpetual  imprisonment  in  his  native  land.  The  religious  disputa- 
tions in  Holland  had  given  a  great  impulse  to  talent.  They  were 
not  solely  theological  arguments,  but  often  blended  various  illus- 
trations from  history,  art,  and  science,  and  a  tone  of  keen  and  deli- 
cate satire  at  once  refined  and  made  them  readable.  It  is  remarkable 
that  almost  the  whole  of  the  Latin  writings  of  this  period  abound 
in  good  taste,  while  those  written  in  the  vulgar  tongue  are  chiefly 
coarse  and  trivial.  Vondel,  the  greatest  of  all  Dutch  writers,  is 
celebrated  for  his  tragedies,  and  Hooft  for  his  lyrical  verse.  The 
latter  of  these  writers  was  also  distinguished  for  his  prose  works,  in 
honor  of  which  Louis  XIII.  dignified  him  with  letters  patent  of 
nobility  and  decorated  him  with  the  Order  of  St.  Michael. 

But  while  Holland  was  more  particularly  distinguished  by  the 
progress  of  the  mechanical  arts,  to  which  Prince  Maurice  afforded 
unbounded  patronage,  the  Belgian  provinces  gave  birth  to  that 
galaxy  of  genius  in  the  art  of  painting  which  no  equal  period 
of  any  other  country  has  even  rivaled,  artists  who  now  flourished 
in  Belgium  at  once  founding,  perfecting,  and  immortalizing 
the  Flemish  school  of  painting.  Rubens,  Vandyke,  Teniers,  Crayer, 
Jordaens,  Sneyders,  and  a  host  of  other  great  names  crowd  on 
us,  with  claims  for  notice  that  almost  make  the  mention  of 
any  an  injustice  to  the  rest.  But  the  world  is  familar  with 
their  fame,  and  the  widespread  taste  for  their  wonderful  art 
makes  them  independent  of  other  record  than  the  combination  of 
their  own  exquisite  touch,  undying  tints,  and  unequaled  knowledge 
of  nature.  Engraving,  carried  at  the  same  time  to  great  perfec- 
tion, has  multiplied  some  of  the  merits  of  the  celebrated  painters, 
while  stamping  the  reputation  of  its  own  professors.  Sculpture 
also  had  its  votaries  of  considerable  note.  Among  these,  Des 
Jardins  and  Quesnoy  held  the  foremost  station.  Architecture 
also  produced  some  remarkable  names.  Nor  was  the  Dutch  school 
of  art  far  behind  the  Flemish,  with  the  names  of  Frans  Hals, 
Terburg,  Rysdael,  and,  towering  above  them  all,  Rembrandt,  the 
most  human  and  original  artist  of  his  time. 

The  arts  were,  in  short,  never  held  in  higher  honor  than  at 
this  brilliant  epoch.  Otto- Venire,  the  master  of  Rubens,  held  most 
important  employments.      Rubens  himself,  appointed  secretary  to 


PEACE     OF    WESTPHALIA  «! 

1600-1648 

the  privy  council  of  the  archdukes,  was  subsequently  sent  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  negotiated  the  peace  between  that  country  and 
Spain.  The  unfortunate  King  Charles  so  highly  esteemed  his 
merit  that  he  knighted  him  in  full  Parliament,  and  presented  him 
with  the  diamond  ring  he  wore  on  his  own  finger  and  a  chain 
enriched  with  brilliants.  David  Teniers,  the  great  pupil  of  this 
distinguished  master,  met  his  due  share  of  honor.  He  has  left 
several  portraits  of  himself,  one  of  which  hands  him  down  to  pos- 
terity, in  the  costume  and  with  the  decorations  of  the  belt  and  key, 
which  he  wore  in  his  capacity  of  chamberlain  to  the  Archduke 
Leopold,  governor-general  of  the  Spanish  Netherlands. 

The  intestine  disturbances  of  Holland  during  the  twelve  years' 
truce,  and  the  enterprises  against  Friesland  and  the  duchy  of 
Cleves,  had  prevented  that  wise  economy  which  was  expected  from 
the  republic.  The  annual  ordinary  cost  of  the  military  establish- 
ment at  that  period  amounted  to  13,000,000  florins.  To  meet  the 
enormous  expenses  of  the  state,  taxes  were  raised  on  every  ma- 
terial. They  produced  about  30,000,000  florins  a  year,  independent 
of  5,000,000  each  for  the  East  and  West  India  companies.  The 
population  in  1620,  in  Holland,  was  about  600,000,  and  the  other 
provinces  contained  about  the  same  number. 

It  is  singpalar  to  observe  the  fertile  erections  of  monopoly  in  a 
state  founded  on  principles  of  commercial  freedom.  The  East 
and  West  India  companies,  the  Greenland  company,  and  others 
were  successively  formed.  By  the  effect  of  their  enterprise,  in- 
dustry, and  wealth  conquests  were  made  and  colonies  founded  with 
surprising  rapidity.  In  America  the  town  of  Amsterdam,  now  New 
York,  was  founded  in  1624;  the  East  saw  Batavia  rise  up  from  the 
ruins  of  Jacatra,  which  was  sacked  and  razed  by  the  Dutch  adven- 
turers, while  the  West  India  Company  conquered  Curasao  and  a 
large  part  of  Brazil  from  the  Portuguese. 

The  Dutch  and  English  East  India  companies,  repressing  their 
mutual  jealousy,  formed  a  species  of  partnership  in  1619  for  the 
reciprocal  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  commerce.  But  four  years 
later  than  this  date  an  event  took  place  so  fatal  to  national  confi- 
dence that  its  impressions  are  scarcely  yet  effaced — this  was  the 
torturing  and  execution  of  several  Englishmen  in  the  island  of 
Amboyna,  on  pretense  of  an  unproved  plot,  of  which  every  proba- 
bility leads  to  the  belief  that  they  were  wholly  innocent.  This 
circumstance  was  the  strongest  stimulant  to  the  hatred  so  evident 


223  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1600-1648 

in  the  bloody  wars  which  not  long  afterward  took  place  between 
the  two  nations,  and  the  lapse  of  two  centuries  has  been  necessary 
to  efface  its  effects.  Much  has  been  written  at  various  periods 
for  and  against  the  establishment  of  monopolizing  companies,  by 
which  individual  wealth  and  skill  are  excluded  from  their  chances 
of  reward.  With  reference  to  those  of  Holland  at  this  period  of 
its  history  it  is  sufficient  to  remark  that  the  great  results  of  their 
formation  could  never  have  been  brought  about  by  isolated  enter- 
prises, and  the  justice  or  wisdom  of  their  continuance  are  questions 
wholly  dependent  on  the  fluctuations  in  trade  and  the  effects  pro- 
duced on  that  of  any  given  country  by  the  progress  and  the  rivalry 
of  others. 

With  respect  to  the  state  of  manners  in  the  republic, 
it  is  clear  that  the  jealousies  and  wnulation  of  commerce  were  not 
likely  to  lessen  the  vice  of  avarice  with  which  the  natives  have  been 
reproached.  Drunkenness  was  a  vice  considered  scarcely  scandal- 
ous, but  the  intrigues  of  gallantry  were  concealed  with  the  most 
scrupulous  mystery — giving  evidence  of  good  taste,  at  least,  if  not 
of  strict  morality.  Court  etiquette  began  to  be  of  infinite  import- 
ance. But  a  characteristic  more  noble  and  worthy  was  the  full 
enjoyment  of  the  liberty  of  the  press  in  the  United  Provinces.  The 
thirst  of  gain,  the  fury  of  faction,  the  federal  independence  of  the 
minor  towns,  the  absolute  power  of  Prince  Maurice,  all  the  com- 
binations which  might  carry  weight,  were  totally  ineffectual  to 
prevail  over  this  grand  principle,  and  the  republic  was,  on  this 
point,  proudly  preeminent  among  surrounding  nations. 


PART    III 


THE  DUTCH  REPUBLIC.    1648-1813 


Chapter    XIX 

WAR  WITH  ENGLAND.     1648-1678 

THE  completion  of  the  Peace  of  Munster  opens  a  new  scene 
in  the  history  of  the  republic.  Its  political  system  expe- 
rienced considerable  changes.  Its  ancient  enemies  became 
its  most  ardent  friends,  and  its  old  allies  loosened  the  bonds  of 
long  continued  amity.  The  other  states  of  Europe,  displeased  at 
its  imperious  conduct  or  jealous  of  its  success,  began  to  wish  its 
humiliation;  but  it  was  little  thought  that  the  consummation  was 
to  be  effected  at  the  hands  of  England. 

While  Holland  prepared  to  profit  by  the  peace  so  brilliantly 
gained,  England,  torn  by  civil  war,  was  hurried  on  in  crime  and 
misery  to  the  final  act  which  has  left  an  indelible  stain  on  her  annals. 
The  United  Provinces  had  preserved  a  strict  neutrality  while  the 
contest  was  undecided.  The  Prince  of  Orange  warmly  strove  to 
obtain  a  declaration  in  favor  of  his  father-in-law,  Charles  I.  The 
Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Duke  of  York,  his  sons,  who  had  taken 
refuge  at  The  Hague,  earnestly  joined  in  the  entreaty,  but  all  that 
could  be  obtained  from  the  states-general  was  their  consent  to  an 
embassy  to  interpose  with  the  uncompromising  men  who  doomed  the 
hapless  monarch  to  the  block.  Pauw  and  Joachimi,  the  one  sixty- 
four  years  of  age,  the  other  eighty-eight,  the  most  able  men  of  the 
republic,  undertook  the  task  of  mediation.  They  were  scarcely 
listened  to  by  the  Parliament,  and  the  bloody  sacrifice  took  place. 

The  details  of  this  event  and  its  immediate  consequences  be- 
long to  English  history,  and  we  must  hurry  over  the  brief,  turbid, 
and  inglorious  stadtholderate  of  William  II.,  to  arrive  at  the  more 
interesting  contest  between  the  Dutch  Republic  and  the  rival  Com- 
monwealth of  England. 

William  II.  was  now  in  his  twenty-fourth  year.  He  had  early 
evinced  that  heroic  disposition  which  was  common  to  his  race. 
He  panted  for  military  glory.  All  his  pleasures  were  those 
usual  to  ardent  and  high-spirited  men,  although  his  delicate  consti- 
tution seemed  to  forbid  the  indulgence  of  hunting,  tennis,  and  the 

S85 


226  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1648 

Other  violent  exercises  in  which  he  delighted.  He  was  highly  ac- 
complished, spoke  five  different  languages  with  elegance  and  fluency, 
and  had  made  considerable  progress  in  mathematics  and  other  ab- 
stract sciences.  His  ambition  knew  no  bounds.  Had  he  reigned 
over  a  monarchy  as  absolute  king  he  would  most  probably  have 
gone  down  to  posterity  a  conqueror  and  a  hero.  But,  unfitted  to 
direct  a  republic  as  its  first  citizen,  he  has  left  but  the  name  of  a 
rash  and  unconstitutional  magistrate.  From  the  moment  of  his 
accession  to  power  he  was  made  sensible  of  the  jealousy  and  sus- 
picion with  which  his  office  and  his  character  were  observed  by  the 
provincial  states  of  Holland.  Many  instances  of  this  disposition 
were  accumulated  to  his  great  disgust,  and  he  was  not  long  in 
evincing  his  determination  to  brave  all  the  odium  and  reproach  of 
despotic  designs  and  to  risk  everything  for  the  establishment  of 
absolute  power.  The  province  of  Holland,  arrogating  to  itself  the 
greatest  share  in  the  reforms  of  the  army,  and  the  financial  arrange- 
ments called  for  by  the  transition  from  war  to  peace,  was  soon  in 
fierce  opposition  with  the  states-general,  which  supported  the  prince 
in  his  early  views.  Cornelius  Bikker,  one  of  the  burgomasters  of 
Amsterdam,  was  the  leading  person  in  the  states  of  Holland,  and  a 
circumstance  soon  occurred  which  put  him  and  the  stadtholder  in 
collision,  and  quickly  decided  the  great  question  at  issue. 

The  admiral  Cornelius  de  Witt  arrived  from  Brazil  with  the 
remains  of  his  fleet,  and  without  the  consent  of  the  council  of 
regency  there  established  by  the  states-general.  He  was  instantly 
arrested  by  order  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  in  his  capacity  of  high 
admiral.  The  admiralty  of  Amsterdam  was  at  the  same  time  or- 
dered by  the  states-general  to  imprison  six  of  the  captains  of  this 
fleet.  The  states  of  Holland  maintained  that  this  was  a  violation 
of  their  provincial  rights,  and  an  illegal  assumption  of  power  on 
the  part  of  the  states-general,  and  the  magistrates  of  Amsterdam 
forced  the  prison  doors  and  set  the  captains  at  liberty.  William, 
backed  by  the  authority  of  the  states-general,  now  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  deputation  from  that  body,  and  made  a  rapid  tour 
of  visitation  to  the  different  chief  towns  of  the  republic  to  sound 
the  depths  of  public  opinion  on  the  matters  in  dispute.  The  depu- 
tation met  with  varied  success,  but  the  results  proved  to  the  irritated 
prince  that  no  measures  of  compromise  were  to  be  expected,  and 
that  force  alone  was  to  arbitrate  the  question.  The  army  was  to  a 
man  devoted  to  him.     The  states-general  gave  him  their  entire, 


WAR    WITH    ENGLAND  2«7 

1650 

and  somewhat  servile,  support.  He  therefore  on  his  own  authority- 
arrested  the  six  deputies  of  Holland,  in  the  same  way  that  his  uncle 
Maurice  had  seized  on  Barneveldt,  Grotius,  and  the  others,  and 
they  were  immediately  conveyed  to  the  castle  of  Louvestein. 

In  adopting  this  bold  and  unauthorized  measure  he  decided  on 
an  immediate  attempt  to  gain  possession  of  the  city  of  Amsterdam, 
the  central  point  of  opposition  to  his  violent  designs.  William 
Frederick,  Count  of  Nassau,  stadtholder  of  Friesland,  at  tlie  head 
of  a  numerous  detachment  of  troops,  marched  secretly  and  by  night 
to  surprise  the  town,  but  the  darkness  and  a  violent  thunder  storm 
having  caused  the  greater  number  to  lose  their  way,  the  count  found 
himself  at  dawn  at  the  city  gates  with  a  very  insufficient  force,  and 
had  the  further  mortification  to  see  the  walls  well  manned,  the 
cannon  pointed,  the  drawbridges  raised,  and  everything  in  a  state 
of  defense.  The  courier  from  Hamburg,  who  had  passed  through 
the  scattered  bands  of  soldiers  during  the  night,  had  given  the  alarm. 
The  first  notion  was  that  a  roving  band  of  Swedish  or  Lorraine 
troops,  attracted  by  the  opulence  of  Amsterdam,  had  resolved  on 
an  attempt  to  seize  and  pillage  it.  The  magistrates  could  scarcely 
credit  the  evidence  of  day,  which  showed  them  the  Count  of  Nassau 
and  his  force  on  their  hostile  mission.  A  short  conference  with 
the  deputies  from  the  citizens  convinced  him  that  a  speedy  retreat 
was  the  only  measure  of  safety  for  himself  and  his  force,  as  the 
sluices  of  the  dikes  were  in  part  opened,  and  a  threat  of  submerg- 
ing the  intended  assailants  only  required  a  moment  more  to  be 
enforced.    . 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  disappointment  and  irritation  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange  consequent  on  this  transaction.  He  at  first 
threatened,  then  negotiated,  and  finally  patched  up  the  matter  in  a 
manner  the  least  mortifying  to  his  wounded  pride.  Bikker  nobly 
offered  himself  for  a  peace-offering,  and  voluntarily  resigned  his 
employments  in  the  city  he  had  saved ;  and  De  Witt  and  his  officers 
were  released.  William  was  in  some  measure  consoled  for  his 
disgrace  by  the  condolence  of  the  army,  the  thanks  of  the  province 
of  Zealand,  and  a  new  treaty  with  France,  strengthened  by  promises 
of  future  support  from  Cardinal  Mazarin;  but  before  he  could 
profit  by  these  encouraging  symptoms,  domestic  and  foreign,  a 
premature  death  cut  short  all  his  projects  of  ambition.  Over- 
violent  exercise  in  a  shooting  party  in  Guelders  brought  on  a  fever, 
which  soon  terminated  in  an  attack  of  small-pox.     On  the  first 


9aS  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1650 

appearance  of  his  illness  he  was  removed  to  The  Hague,  and  he 
died  there  on  November  6,  1650,  aged  twenty-four  years  and  six 
months. 

The  death  of  this  prince  left  the  state  without  a  stadtholder 
and  the  army  without  a  chief.  The  whole  of  Europe  shared  more 
or  less  in  the  joy  or  the  regret  it  caused.  The  republican  party,  both 
in  Holland  and  in  England,  rejoiced  in  a  circumstance  which  threw 
back  the  sovereign  power  into  the  hands  of  the  nation;  the  par- 
tisans of  the  house  of  Orange  deeply  lamented  the  event.  But  the 
birth  of  a  son,  of  which  the  widowed  Princess  of  Orange  was  de- 
livered within  a  week  of  her  husband's  death,  revived  the  hopes 
of  those  who  mourned  his  loss,  and  offered  her  the  only  consolation 
which  could  assuage  her  grief.  The  guardianship  of  the  child  was 
after  some  dispute  given  to  his  uncle,  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg. 
The  states  of  Holland  soon  exercised  their  influence  on  the  other 
provinces.  Many  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  stadtholder  were  now 
assumed  by  the  people,  and,  with  the  exception  of  Zealand,  which 
made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  name  the  infant  prince  to  the 
dignity  of  his  ancestors  under  the  title  of  William  HI.,  a  per- 
fect unanimity  seemed  to  have  reconciled  all  opposing  interests. 
The  various  towns  secured  the  privileges  of  appointing  their  own 
magistrates,  and  the  direction  of  the  army  and  navy  devolved  to  the 
states-general. 

The  time  was  now  arrived  when  the  wisdom,  the  courage,  and 
the  resources  of  the  republic  were  to  be  put  once  more  to  the  test, 
in  a  contest  hitherto  without  example,  and  never  since  equaled  in 
its  nature.  The  naval  wars  between  Holland  and  England  had  their 
real  source  in  the  inveterate  jealousies  and  unbounded  ambition 
of  both  countries,  reciprocally  convinced  that  a  joint  supremacy 
at  sea  was  incompatible  with  their  interests  and  their  honor,  and 
each  resolved  to  risk  everything  for  their  mutual  pretensions — to 
perish  rather  than  yield.  The  United  Provinces  were  assuredly 
not  the  aggressors  in  this  quarrel.  They  had  made  sure  of  their 
capability  to  meet  it,  by  the  settlement  of  all  questions  of  internal 
government  and  the  solid  peace  which  secured  them  against  any 
attack  on  the  part  of  their  old  and  inveterate  enemy;  but  they  did 
not  seek  a  rupture.  They  at  first  endeavored  to  ward  off  the  threat- 
ened danger  by  every  effort  of  conciliation,  and  they  met  with  tem- 
perate management  even  the  advances  made  by  Cromwell  at  the 
instigation  of  St.  John,  the  chief  justipe,  for  a  proposed  yet  im- 


WAR    WITH     ENGLAND  229 

1650-1652 

practicable  coalition  between  the  two  republics,  which  was  to  make 
them  one  and  indivisible.  An  embassy  to  The  Hague,  with  St. 
John  and  Strickland  at  its  head,  was  received  with  all  public  honors, 
but  the  partisans  of  the  families  of  Orange  and  Stuart,  and  the 
populace  generally,  openly  insulted  the  ambassadors.  About  the 
same  time  Dorislaus,  a  Dutchman  naturalized  in  England,  and 
sent  on  a  mission  from  the  Parliament,  was  murdered  at  The 
Hague  by  some  Scotch  officers,  friends  of  the  banished  king;  the 
massacre  of  Amboyna,  thirty  years  before,  was  made  a  cause  of  re- 
vived complaint ;  and  altogether  a  sum  of  injuries  was  easily  made 
up  to  turn  the  proposed  coalition  into  a  fierce  and  bloody  war. 

The  Parliament  of  England  soon  found  a  pretext  in  an  out- 
rageous measure,  under  pretense  of  providing  for  the  interests  of 
commerce.  They  passed  the  celebrated  Navigation  Act,  which  pro- 
hibited all  nations  from  importing  into  England  in  their  ships  any 
commodity  which  was  not  the  growth  and  manufacture  of  their 
own  country.  This  law,  though  worded  generally,  was  aimed 
directly  at  the  Dutch,  who  were  the  general  factors  and  carriers  of 
Europe.  Ships  were  seized,  reprisals  made,  the  mockery  of  ne- 
gotiation carried  on,  fleets  equipped,  and  at  length  the  war  broke  out. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1652,  the  Dutch  admiral  Tromp,  com- 
manding forty-two  ships  of  war,  met  with  the  English  fleet  under 
Blake  in  the  straits  of  Dover.  The  latter,  though  much  inferior 
in  number,  gave  a  signal  to  the  Dutch  admiral  to  strike,  the  usual 
salutation  of  honor  accorded  to  the  English  during  the  monarchy. 
Totally  different  versions  have  been  given  by  the  two  admirals  of 
what  followed.  Blake  insisted  that  Tromp,  instead  of  complying, 
fired  a  broadside  at  his  vessel;  Tromp  stated  that  a  second  and 
a  third  bullet  were  sent  promptly  from  the  British  ship  while  he  was 
preparing  to  obey  the  admiral's  claim.  The  discharge  of  the  first 
broadside  is  also  a  matter  of  contradiction,  and  of  course  of  doubt. 
But  it  is  of  small  consequence,  for  whether  hostilities  had  been  hur- 
ried on  or  delayed,  they  were  ultimately  inevitable.  A  bloody  battle 
began,  and  it  lasted  five  hours.  The  inferiority  in  number  on  the 
side  of  the  English  was  balanced  by  the  larger  size  of  their  ships. 
One  Dutch  vessel  was  sunk,  another  taken,  and  night  parted  the 
combatants. 

The  states-general  heard  the  news  with  consternation.  They 
dispatched  the  grand  pensionary,  Pauw,  on  a  special  embassy  to 
London.    The  imperious  Parliament  would  hear  of  neither  reason 


230  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1652-1653 

nor  remonstrance.  Right  or  wrong,  they  were  resolved  on  war. 
Blake  was  soon  at  sea  again  with  a  numerous  fleet,  Tromp  fol- 
lowing with  a  hundred  ships,  but  a  violent  tempest  separated  these 
furious  enemies,  and  retarded  for  a  while  the  reencounter  they  mutu- 
ally longed  for.  On  August  i6  a  battle  took  place  between  Sir 
George  Ayscue  and  the  renowned  De  Ruyter,  near  Plymouth,  each 
with  about  forty  ships,  but  with  no  decisive  consequences.  On 
October  28  Blake,  aided  by  Bourn  and  Penn,  met  a  Dutch  squadron 
of  nearly  equal  force  off  the  coast  of  Kent  under  De  Ruyter  and  De 
Witt.  The  fight  which  followed  was  also  severe,  but  not  decisive, 
though  the  Dutch  had  the  worst  of  the  day.  In  the  Mediterranean 
the  Dutch  admiral,  Van  Galen,  defeated  the  English  captain,  Ap- 
pleton,  but  bought'  the  victory  with  his  life.  And  on  December 
10  another  bloody  conflict  took  place  between  Blake  and  Tromp, 
seconded  by  De  Ruyter,  near  the  Goodwin  Sands.  In  this  deter- 
mined action  Blake  was  wounded  and  defeated,  five  English  ships 
taken,  burned,  or  sunk,  and  night  saved  the  fleet  from  destruction. 

Great  preparations  were  made  in  England  to  recover  this 
disgrace.  Eighty  sail  put  to  sea  under  Blake,  Dean,  and  Monk,  so 
celebrated  subsequently  as  the  restorer  of  the  monarchy.  Tromp 
and  De  Ruyter,  with  seventy-six  vessels,  were  descried  on  Febru- 
ary 28  escorting  three  hundred  merchantmen  up  the  Channel.  Three 
days  of  desperate  fighting  ended  in  a  drawn  battle,  the  Dutch  losing 
ten  ships  and  600  men,  while  the  English  lost  six  ships  but  over 
2000  men.  Tromp  acquired  prodigious  honor  by  this  battle,  having 
succeeded  in  saving  almost  the  whole  of  his  immense  convoy.  It 
was  after  this  engagement  that  Tromp  is  said  to  have  placed  a  broom 
at  his  masthead  to  intimate  that  he  would  sweep  the  Channel  clear 
of  English  ships.  On  June  12  and  the  day  following  two  other 
actions  were  fought,  in  the  first  of  which  the  English  admiral,  Dean, 
was  killed;  in  the  second,  Monk,  Penn,  and  Lawson  amply  re- 
venged his  death  by  forcing  the  Dutch  to  regain  their  harbors  with 
great  loss. 

July  21  was  the  last  of  these  bloody  and  obstinate  conflicts  for 
superiority.  Tromp  issued  out  once  more,  determined  to  conquer 
or  die.  He  met  the  enemy  off  Scheveling,  commanded  by  Monk. 
Both  fleets  rushed  to  the  combat.  The  heroic  Dutchman,  anima- 
ting his  sailors  with  his  sword  drawn,  was  shot  through  the  heart 
with  a  musket-ball.  This  battle,  the  bloodiest  of  the  war,  was  as 
indecisive  as  most  of  the  others.     Both  sides  claimed  the  victory, 


WAR    WITH    ENGLAND  851 

1653*1159 

but  neither  fleet  kept  the  sea.  The  body  of  Tromp  was  carried 
with  great  solemnity  to  the  church  of  Delft,  where  a  magnificent 
mausoleum  was  erected  over  the  remains  of  this  eminently  brave 
and  distinguished  man. 

This  memorable  battle,  and  the  death  of  this  great  naval  hero, 
added  to  the  injury  done  to  their  trade,  induced  the  states-general 
to  seek  terms  from  their  too  powerful  enemy.  The  want  of  peace 
was  felt  throughout  the  whole  country.  Cromwell  was  not  averse 
to  granting  it,  but  insisted  on  conditions  every  way  disadvantageous 
and  humiliating.  He  had  revived  his  chimerical  scheme  of  a  total 
conjunction  of  government,  privileges,  and  interests  between  the 
two  republics.  This  was  firmly  rejected  by  John  de  Witt,  now 
g^and  pensionary  of  Holland,  and  by  the  states  under  his  influence. 
But  the  Dutch  consented  to  a  defensive  league;  to  punish  the 
survivors  of  those  concerned  in  the  massacre  of  Amboyna,  to  pay 
£9000  of  indemnity  for  vessels  seized  in  the  Sound,  £5000  for  the 
affair  of  Amboyna,  and  £85,000  to  the  English  East  India  Com- 
pany; to  cede  to  them  the  island  of  Polerone  in  the  East;  to 
yield  the  honor  of  the  national  flag  to  the  English;  and,  finally, 
that  neither  the  young  Prince  of  Orange  nor  any  of  his  family 
should  ever  be  invested  with  the  dignity  of  stadtholder.  These  two 
latter  conditions  were  certainly  degrading  to  Holland,  and  the 
conditions  of  the  treaty  prove  that  an  absurd  point  of  honor  was 
the  only  real  cause  for  the  short  but  bloody  and  ruinous  war  which 
plunged  the  Provinces  into  overwhelming  difficulties.* 

For  several  years  after  the  conclusion  of  this  inglorious  peace 
universal  discontent  and  dissension  spread  throughout  the  republic. 
The  supporters  of  the  house  of  Orange  and  every  impartial  friend 
of  the  national  honor  were  indignant  at  the  act  of  exclusion.  Mur- 
murs and  revolts  broke  out  in  several  towns,  and  all  was  once  more 
tumult,  agitation,  and  doubt.  No  event  of  considerable  importance 
marks  particularly  this  epoch  of  domestic  trouble.  A  new  war 
was  at  last  pronounced  inevitable,  and  was  the  means  of  appeasing 
the  distractions  of  the  people  and  reconciling  by  degrees  contending 
parties.  Denmark,  the  ancient  ally  of  the  republic,  was  threatened 
with  destruction  by  Charles  Gustavus,  King  of  Sweden,  who  held 
Copenhagen  in  blockade.  The  interests  of  Holland  were  in  im- 
minent peril  should  the  Swedes  gain  the  passage  of  the  Sound.  This 

^  During  the  English  war  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  lost  its  last  strong- 
holds in  Brazil,  which  was  now  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese. 


2Sa  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1S60 

double  motive  influenced  De  Witt,  and  he  persuaded  the  states- 
general  to  send  Admiral  Opdam  with  a  considerable  fleet  to  the 
Baltic  This  intrepid  successor  of  the  immortal  Tromp  soon  came 
to  blows  with  a  rival  worthy  to  meet  him.  Wrangel,  the  Swedish 
admiral,  with  a  superior  force,  defended  the  passage  of  the  Sound, 
and  the  two  castles  of  Kronenberg  and  Elsenberg  supported  his  fleet 
with  their  tremendous  fire.  But  Opdam  resolutely  advanced. 
Though  suffering  extreme  anguish  from  an  attack  of  gout,  he  had 
himself  carried  on  deck,  where  he  gave  his  orders  with  the  most 
admirable  coolness  and  precision,  in  the  midst  of  danger  and  car- 
nage. The  rival  monarchs  witnessed  the  battle — the  King  of 
Sweden  from  the  castle  of  Kronenberg  and  the  King  of  Denmark 
from  the  summit  of  the  highest  tower  in  his  besieged  capital.  A 
brilliant  victory  crowned  the  efforts  of  the  Dutch  admiral,  dearly 
bought  by  the  death  of  his  second  in  command,  the  brave  De  Witt, 
and  Peter  Florizon,  another  admiral  of  note.  Relief  was  poured 
into  Copenhagen.  Opdam  was  replaced  in  the  command,  too  ar- 
duous for  his  infirmities,  by  the  still  more  celebrated  De  Ruyter, 
who  was  greatly  distinguished  for  his  valor  in  several  successive 
affairs,  and,  after  the  death  of  Charles  Gustavus,  the  Swedes  made 
peace,  restoring  their  conquests  in  Denmark. 

These  transactions  placed  the  United  Provinces  on  a  still 
higher  pinnacle  of  glory  than  they  had  ever  reached.  Intestine 
disputes  were  suddenly  calmed.  The  Algerines  and  other  pirates 
were  swept  from  the  seas  by  a  succession  of  small  but  vigorous 
expeditions.  The  mediation  of  the  states  reestablished  peace  in  sev- 
eral of  the  petty  states  of  Germany.  England  and  France  were  both 
held  in  check,  if  not  presented  in  friendship,  by  the  dread  of  their 
recovered  power.  Trade  and  finance  were  reorganized.  Every- 
thing seemed  to  promise  a  long-continued  peace  and  growing  great- 
ness, much  of  which  was  owing  to  the  talents  and  persevering 
energy  of  De  Witt;  and,  to  complete  the  good  work  of  European 
tranquillity,  the  French  and  Spanish  monarchs  concluded  in  this 
year  the  treaty  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Peace  of  the  Pyrenees." 

Cromwell  had  now  closed  his  career,  and  Charles  II.  was  re- 
stored to  the  throne  from  which  he  had  so  long  been  excluded. 
The  complimentary  entertainments  rendered  to  the  restored  king 
in  Holland  were  on  the  proudest  scale  of  expense.  He  left  the 
country  which  had  given  him  refuge  in  misfortune,  and  done  him 
honor  in  his  prosperity,  with  profuse  expressions  of  regard  and 


MICHEL   DE   RUYTER 
(Born    1607.     Died    1676) 
Painting   by   Frans   Hals 


WAR    WITH     ENGLAND 

1659-1665 

gratitude.  Scarcely  was  he  established  in  his  recovered  kingdom 
when  a  still  greater  testimony  of  deference  to  his  wishes  was  paid 
by  the  states-general  formally  annulling  the  act  of  exclusion  against 
the  house  of  Orange.  A  variety  of  motives,  however,  acting  on  the 
easy  and  plastic  mind  of  the  monarch,  soon  effaced  whatever  of 
gratitude  he  had  at  first  conceived.  He  readily  entered  into  the 
views  of  the  English  nation,  which  was  irritated  by  the  great  com- 
mercial superiority  of  Holland,  and  a  jealousy  excited  by  its  close 
connection  with  France  at  this  period. 

It  was  not  till  February  2.2,,  1665,  that  war  was  formally  de- 
clared against  the  Dutch,  but  many  previous  acts  of  hostility  had 
taken  place  in  expeditions  against  their  settlements  on  the  coast 
of  Africa  and  in  America,  which  were  retaliated  by  De  Ruyter  with 
vigor  and  success.  The  Dutch  used  every  possible  means  of  avoid- 
ing the  last  extremities.  De  Witt  employed  all  the  powers  of  his 
great  capacity  to  avert  the  evil  of  war,  but  nothing  could  finally 
prevent  it,  and  the  sea  was  once  more  to  witness  the  conflict  between 
those  who  claimed  its  sovereignty.  A  great  battle  was  fought  on 
June  13.  The  Duke  of  York,  afterward  James  II.,  commanded  the 
British  fleet,  and  had  under  him  the  Earl  of  Sandwich  and  Prince 
Rupert.  The  Dutch  were  led  on  by  Opdam,  and  the  victory  was 
decided  in  favor  of  the  English  by  the  blowing  up  of  that  admiral's 
ship,  with  himself  and  his  whole  crew.  The  loss  of  the  Dutch  was 
altogether  nineteen  ships.^  De  Witt,  the  pensionary,  then  took  in 
person  the  command  of  the  fleet,  which  was  soon  equipped,  and  he 
gave  a  high  proof  of  the  adaptation  of  genius  to  a  pursuit  previ- 
ously unknown,  by  the  rapid  knowledge  and  the  practical  improve- 
ments he  introduced  into  some  of  the  most  intricate  branches  of 
naval  tactics. 

Immense  efforts  were  now  made  by  England,  but  with  a  very 
questionable  policy,  to  induce  Louis  XIV.  to  join  in  the  war.  Charles 
offered  to  allow  of  his  acquiring  the  whole  of  the  Spanish  Nether- 
lands, provided  he  would  leave  him  without  interruption  to  destroy 
the  Dutch  navy  (and,  consequently,  their  commerce),  in  the  by  no 
means  certain  expectation  that  its  advantages  would  all  fall  to  the 
share  of  England.  But  the  King  of  France  resolved  to  support  the 
republic.    The  King  of  Denmark,  too,  formed  an  alliance  with  them, 

*The  best  account  of  this  and  the  succeeding  battles  in  the  naval  wars 
between  Holland  and  England  will  be  found  in  Captain  Mahan's  "Influence  of 
Sea  Power  on  History,  1660- 1783." 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1665-1667 

after  a  series  of  the  most  strange  tergiversations.  Spain,  reduced 
to  feebleness  and  menaced  with  invasion  by  France,  showed  no 
alacrity  to  meet  with  Charles's  overtures  for  an  offensive  treaty. 
Van  Galen,  Bishop  of  Munster,  a  restless  prelate,  was  the  only  ally 
he  could  acquire.  This  bishop,  at  the  head  of  a  tumultuous  force 
of  20,000  men,  penetrated  into  Friesland,  but  6000  French  were 
dispatched  by  Louis  to  the  assistance  of  the  republic,  and  this  im- 
potent invasion  was  easily  repelled. 

The  republic,  encouraged  by  all  these  favorable  circumstances, 
resolved  to  put  forward  its  utmost  energies.  Internal  discords  were 
once  more  appeased,  the  harbors  were  crowded  with  merchant  ships, 
the  young  Prince  of  Orange  had  put  himself  under  the  tuition  of 
the  states  of  Holland  and  of  De  Witt,  who  faithfully  executed  his 
trust,  and  De  Ruyter  was  ready  to  lead  on  the  fleet.  The  English, 
in  spite  of  the  dreadful  calamity  of  the  great  fire  of  London,  the 
plague  which  desolated  the  city,  and  a  declaration  of  war  on  the 
part  of  France,  prepared  boldly  for  the  shock. 

The  Dutch  fleet  of  one  hundred  ships,  commanded  by  De 
Ruyter  and  Tromp,  were  soon  at  sea.  The  English,  under  Prince 
Rupert  and  Monk,  now  Duke  of  Albemarle,  did  not  lie  idle  in 
port.  A  battle  of  four  days'  continuance,  one  of  the  most  de- 
termined and  terrible  on  record  up  to  this  period,  was  the  conse- 
quence. De  Ruyter  won  a  decided  victory,  for  the  English  lost 
seventeen  ships  and  8000  men,  while  the  Dutch  lost  but  four  ships 
and  less  than  2000  men.  The  English  and  Dutch  fleets  met  again 
on  August  4,  and  this  time  the  victory  inclined  to  the  English. 
De  Ruyter,  separated  from  the  rest  of  his  squadron  and  surrounded 
by  twenty  English  ships,  for  the  moment  despaired  of  escape,  but 
recovering  his  composure  he  succeeded  in  extricating  himself  by  a 
masterly  retreat  which  won  the  admiration  of  his  contemporaries. 

The  King  of  France  hastened  forward  in  this  crisis  to  the  as- 
sistance of  the  republic,  and  De  Witt,  by  a  deep  stroke  of  policy, 
amused  the  English  with  negotiation  while  a  powerful  fleet  was 
fitted  out.  It  suddenly  appeared  in  the  Thames,  under  the  command 
of  De  Ruyter,  and  all  England  was  thrown  into  consternation.  The 
Dutch  took  Sheerness  and  burned  many  ships  of  war,  almost  insult- 
ing the  capital  itself  in  their  predatory  incursion.  Had  the  French 
power  joined  that  of  the  provinces  at  this  time  and  invaded  Eng- 
land, the  most  fatal  results  to  that  kingdom  might  have  taken  place. 
But  the  alarm  soon  subsided  with  the  disappearance  of  the  hostile 


WAR     WITH     ENGLAND  9S5 

1667-1672 

fleet,  and  the  signing  of  the  Peace  of  Breda,  on  July  lo,  1667,  ex- 
tricated Charles  from  his  present  difficulties.  The  island  of  Pole- 
rone  was  restored  to  the  Dutch,  and  the  point  of  maritime  su- 
periority was,  on  this  occasion,  undoubtedly  theirs.  A  more  lasting 
and  important  result  was  the  loss  of  the  Dutch  colony  of  New 
Amsterdam  in  America,  transferred  to  England  under  the  treaty. 
While  Holland  was  preparing  to  indulge  in  the  novelty  of 
national  repose,  the  death  of  Philip  IV.  of  Spain,  and  the  startling 
ambition  of  Louis  XIV.,  brought  war  once  more  to  their  very 
doors,  and  soon  even  forced  it  across  the  threshold  of  the  republic. 
The  King  of  France,  setting  at  nought  his  solemn  renunciation  at 
the  Peace  of  the  Pyrenees  of  all  claims  to  any  part  of  the  Spanish 
territories  in  right  of  his  wife,  who  was  daughter  of  the  late  king, 
found  excellent  reasons  (for  his  own  satisfaction)  to  invade  a 
material  portion  of  that  declining  monarchy.  Well  prepared  by  the 
financial  and  military  foresight  of  Colbert  for  his  great  design,  he 
suddenly  poured  a  powerful  army,  under  Turenne,  into  Brabant 
and  Flanders,  quickly  overran  and  took  possession  of  these 
provinces,  and  in  the  space  of  three  weeks  added  Franche-Comte  * 
to  his  conquests.  Europe  was  in  universal  alarm  at  these  unex- 
pected measures,  and  no  state  felt  more  terror  than  the  republic  of 
the  United  Provinces.  The  interests  of  all  Europe  seemed  now  to 
require  a  coalition  against  the  aggressions  of  the  French  monarchy, 
which  had  grasped  the  overweening  power  that  had  fallen  from 
the  hands  of  the  house  of  Austria.  The  first  measure  to  this  effect 
was  the  signing  of  a  triple  alliance  between  England,  Sweden,  and 
the  United  Provinces,  at  The  Hague,  January  13,  1668.  The  alli- 
ance forced  Louis  to  relax  his  hold  on  the  Spanish  Netherlands, 
but  his  wrath  now  turned  against  the  little  republic  which  had 
thwarted  his  projects.  The  triple  alliance  soon  fell  to  pieces. 
Sweden  withdrew  at  the  persuasion  of  the  French  ministers,  and 
Charles  II.,  perfidiously  deserting  his  ally,  made  a  secret  treaty 
with  France  for  the  partition  of  the  United  Provinces,  which  soon 
found  themselves  involved  in  a  double  war  for  life  with  their  late 
allies. 

A  base  and  piratical  attack  on  the  Dutch  Smyrna  fleet  by  a 

large  force  under  Sir  Robert  Holmes,  on  March  23,  1672,  was  the 

first  overt  act  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  English  government. 

The  attempt  completely  failed,  through  the  prudence  and  valor  of 

•  Franche-Comte  was  the  Spanish  portion  of  the  old  Duchy  of  Burgundy. 


236  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1672 

the  Dutch  admirals,  and  Charles  reaped  only  the  double  shame  of 
perfidy  and  defeat.  He  instantly  issued  a  declaration  of  war 
against  the  republic,  on  reasoning  too  palpably  false  to  require 
refutation,  and  too  frivolous  to  merit  record, 

Louis  at  least  covered  with  the  semblance  of  dignity  his  un- 
just cooperation  in  this  violence.  He  soon  advanced  with  his  army 
and  the  contingents  of  Munster  and  Cologne,  his  allies,  amounting 
altogether  to  nearly  170,000  men,  commanded  by  Conde,  Turenne, 
Luxembourg,  and  others  of  the  greatest  generals  of  France.  Never 
was  any  country  less  prepared  than  were  the  United  Provinces  to 
resist  this  formidable  aggression.  Their  army  was  as  nought, 
their  long  cessation  of  military  operations  by  land  having  totally 
demoralized  that  once  invincible  branch  of  their  forces.  No  gen- 
eral existed  who  knew  anything  of  the  practice  of  war.  Their  very 
stores  of  ammunition  had  been  delivered  over,  in  the  way  of  traffic, 
to  the  enemy  who  now  prepared  to  overwhelm  them.  De  Witt 
was  severely,  and  not  quite  unjustly,  blamed  for  having  suffered 
the  country  to  be  thus  taken  by  surprise,  utterly  defenseless,  and 
apparently  without  resource.  Envy  of  his  uncommon  merit  aggra- 
vated the  just  complaints  against  his  error.  But,  above  all  things, 
the  popular  affection  for  the  young  prince  threatened,  in  some  great 
convulsion,  the  overthrow  of  the  pensionary,  who  was  considered 
eminently  hostile  to  the  illustrious  house  of  Orange. 

William  KL,  Prince  of  Orange,  now  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
was  amply  endowed  with  those  hereditary  qualities  of  valor  and 
wisdom  which  only  required  experience  to  give  him  rank  with  the 
greatest  of  his  ancestors.  The  Louvenstein  party,  as  the  adherents 
of  the  house  of  Orange  were  called,  now  easily  prevailed  in  their 
long-conceived  design  of  placing  him  at  the  head  of  affairs,  with 
the  titles  of  captain-general  and  high  admiral.  De  Witt,  anxious 
from  personal  considerations,  as  well  as  patriotism,  to  employ 
every  means  of  active  exertion,  attempted  the  organization  of  an 
army,  and  hastened  the  equipment  of  a  formidable  fleet  of  nearly  a 
hundred  ships  of  the  line  and  half  as  many  fire-ships.  De  Ruyter, 
now  without  exception  the  greatest  commander  of  the  age,  set  sail 
with  this  force  iri  search  of  the  combined  fleets  of  England  and 
France,  commanded  by  the  Duke  of  York  and  Marshal  d'Estrees. 
He  encountered  them,  on  June  7,  1672,  at  Solebay.  A  most  bloody 
engagement  was  the  result  of  this  meeting.  Sandwich,  on  the  side 
of  the  English,  and  Van  Ghent,  a  Dutch  admiral,  were  slain.   The 


WAR    WITH    ENGLAND  5887 

1672 

results  of  the  battle  were  indecisive,  though  the  glory  of  the  day 
rested  with  De  Ruyter;  but  the  sea  was  not  the  element  on  which 
the  fate  of  Holland  was  to  be  decided. 

The  French  armies  poured  like  a  torrent  into  the  territories 
of  the  republic.  Rivers  were  passed,  towns  taken,  and  provinces 
overrun  with  a  rapidity  much  less  honorable  to  France  than  dis- 
graceful to  Holland.  No  victory  was  gained — no  resistance 
offered,  and  it  is  disgusting  to  look  back  on  the  fulsome  panegyrics 
with  which  courtiers  and  poets  lauded  Louis  for  those  facile  and 
inglorious  triumphs.  The  Prince  of  Orange  had  received  the  com- 
mand of  a  nominal  army  of  70,000  men,  but  with  this  undis- 
ciplined and  discouraged  mass  he  could  attempt  nothing.  He 
prudently  retired  into  the  province  of  Holland,  vainly  hoping  that 
the  numerous  fortresses  on  the  frontiers  would  have  offered  some 
resistance  to  the  enemy.  Guelders,  Overyssel,  and  Utrecht  were 
already  in  Louis's  hands.  Groningen  and  Friesland  were  threat- 
ened. Holland  and  Zealand  opposed  obstruction  to  such  rapid 
conquest  from  their  natural  position,  and  Amsterdam  set  a  noble 
example  to  the  remaining  towns — forming  a  regular  and  energetic 
plan  of  defense  and  endeavoring  to  infuse  its  spirit  into  the  rest. 
The  sluices,  those  desperate  sources  at  once  of  safety  and  desola- 
tion, were  opened,  the  whole  country  submerged,  and  the  other 
provinces  following  this  example,  extensive  districts  of  fertility 
and  wealth  were  given  to  the  sea,  for  the  exclusion  of  which  so 
many  centuries  had  scarcely  sufficed. 

The  states-general  now  assembled,  and  it  was  decided  to  sup- 
plicate for  peace  at  the  hands  of  the  combined  monarchs.  The 
haughty  insolence  of  Louvois,  coinciding  with  the  temper  of  Louis 
himself,  made  the  latter  propose  the  following  conditions  as  the 
price  of  peace :  To  take  off  all  duties  on  commodities  exported  into 
Holland ;  to  grant  the  free  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion  in  the 
United  Provinces;  to  share  the  churches  with  the  Catholics,  and 
to  pay  their  priests ;  to  yield  up  all  the  frontier  towns,  with  several 
in  the  heart  of  the  republic ;  to  pay  him  20,000,000  livres ;  to  send 
him  every  year  a  solemn  embassy,  accompanied  by  a  present  of  a 
golden  medal,  as  an  acknowledgment  that  they  owed  him  their 
liberty ;  and,  finally,  that  they  should  give  entire  satisfaction  to  the 
King  of  England. 

Charles,  on  his  part,  after  the  most  insulting  treatment  of  the 
ambassadors  sent  to  London,  required,  among  others  terms,  that 


238  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

ie72 

the  Dutch  should  give  up  the  honor  of  the  flag  without  reserve, 
whole  fleets  being  expected,  even  on  the  coasts  of  Holland,  to  lower 
their  topsails  to  the  smallest  ship  under  British  colors;  that  the 
Dutch  should  pay  £1,000,000  sterling  toward  the  charges  of  the 
war,  and  £10,000  a  year  for  permission  to  fish  in  the  British  seas; 
that  they  should  share  the  Indian  trade  with  the  English;  and 
that  Walcheren  and  several  other  islands  should  be  put  into  the 
king's  hands  as  security  for  the  performance  of  the  articles. 

The  insatiable  monarchs  overshot  the  mark.  Existence  was 
not  worth  preserving  on  these  intolerable  terms.  Holland  was 
driven  to  desperation,  and  even  the  people  of  England  were  in- 
spired with  indignation  at  this  monstrous  injustice.  In  the  repub- 
lic a  violent  explosion  of  popular  excess  took  place.  The  people 
now  saw  no  safety  but  in  the  courage  and  talents  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  He  was  tumultuously  proclaimed  stadtholder.  De  Witt 
and  his  brother  Cornelius,  the  conscientious  but  too  obstinate  oppo- 
nents of  this  measure  of  salvation,  fell  victims  to  the  popular 
frenzy.  The  latter,  condemned  to  banishment  on  an  atrocious 
charge  of  intended  assassination  against  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
M'as  visited  in  his  prison  at  The  Hague  by  the  grand  pensionary. 
The  rabble,  incited  to  fury  by  the  calumnies  spread  against  these 
two  virtuous  citizens,  broke  into  the  prison,  forced  the  unfortunate 
brothers  into  the  street,  and  there  literally  tore  them  to  pieces  with 
circumstances  of  the  most  brutal  ferocity.  This  scene  took  place 
on  August  27,  1672.'* 

The  massacre  of  the  De  Witts  completely  destroyed  the  party 
of  which  they  were  the  head.  All  men  now  united  under  the  only 
leader  left  to  the  country.  William  showed  himself  well  worthy  of 
the  trust,  and  of  his  heroic  blood.  He  turned  his  whole  force  against 
the  enemy.  He  sought  nothing  for  himself  but  the  glory  of  saving 
his  country,  and  taking  his  ancestors  for  models,  in  the  best  points 
of  their  respective  characters,  he  combined  prudence  with  energy 
and  firmncfSs  with  moderation.  His  spirit  inspired  all  ranks  of 
men.  The  conditions  of  peace  demanded  by  the  partner  kings  were 
rejected  with  scorn.  The  whole  nation  was  moved  by  one  con- 
centrated principle  of  heroism,  and  it  was  even  resolved  to  put 

♦Though  William's  complicity  in  the  murder  has  never  been  proved,  yet 
he  made  no  attempt  to  avenge  the  crime  from  which  he  grained  so  much;  indeed, 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  mob  enjoyed  a  pension  granted  by  him.  The  murder 
of  the  De  Witts,  like  the  Glencoe  massacre,  has  cast  an  indelible  stain  on  his 
character  which  admirers  have  vainly  sought  to  remove. 


WAR    WITH     ENGLAND 

1672-1675 

the  ancient  notion  of  the  first  William  into  practice,  and  abandon 
the  country  to  the  waves,  sooner  than  submit  to  the  political  anni- 
hilation with  which  it  was  threatened.  The  capability  of  the  ves- 
sels in  their  harbors  was  calculated,  and  they  were  found  sufficient 
to  transport  200,000  families  to  the  Indian  settlements.  We  must 
hasten  from  this  sublime  picture  of  national  desperation.  The  hero 
who  stands  in  its  foreground  was  inaccessible  to  every  overture  of 
corruption.  Buckingham,  the  English  ambassador,  offered  him, 
on  the  part  of  England  and  France,  the  independent  sovereignty  of 
Holland  if  he  would  abandon  the  other  provinces  to  their  grasp, 
and,  urging  his  consent,  asked  him  if  he  did  not  see  that  the  re- 
public was  ruined.  "  There  is  one  means,"  replied  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  "  which  will  save  me  from  the  sight  of  my  country's  ruin 
— I  will  die  in  the  last  ditch." 

Action  soon  proved  the  reality  of  the  prince's  profession.  He 
took  the  field,  having  first  punished  with  death  some  of  the  cow- 
ardly commanders  of  the  frontier  towns.  He  besieged  and  took 
Naarden,  an  important  place,  and  by  a  masterly  movement  formed 
a  junction  with  Montecuculi,  whom  the  Emperor  Leopold  had  at 
length  sent  to  his  assistance  with  20,000  men.  Groningen  repulsed 
the  Bishop  of  Munster,  the  ally  of  France,  with  a  loss  of  12,000 
men.  The  King  of  Spain  (such  are  the  strange  fluctuations  of 
political  friendship  and  enmity)  sent  the  Count  of  Monterey, 
governor  of  the  Belgian  provinces,  with  10,000  men  to  support  the 
Dutch  army.  The  Elector  of  Brandenburg  also  lent  them  aid.  The 
whole  face  of  affairs  was  changed,  and  Louis  was  obliged  to  aban- 
don all  his  conquests  with  more  rapidity  than  he  had  made  them. 
Two  desperate  battles  at  sea,  on  May  28  and  June  4,  in  which  De 
Ruyter  and  Prince  Rupert  again  distinguished  themselves,  only 
proved  the  valor  of  the  combatants,  leaving  victory  still  doubtful. 
England  was  with  one  common  feeling  ashamed  of  the  odious  war 
in  which  the  king  and  his  unworthy  ministers  had  engaged  the 
nation.  Charles  was  forced  to  make  peace  on  the  conditions  pro- 
posed by  the  Dutch.  The  honor  of  the  flag  was  yielded  to  the 
English,  a  regulation  of  trade  was  agreed  to,  all  possessions  were 
restored  to  the  same  condition  as  before  the  war,  and  the  states- 
general  agreed  to  pay  the  king  800,000  patacoons,  or  nearly 
£300,000  ($15,000,000). 

With  these  encouraging  results  from  the  Prince  of  Orange's 
influence  and  example,  Holland  persevered    in    the  contest  with 


240  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1675-1677 

France.  He,  in  the  first  place,  made  head,  during  a  winter  cam- 
paign in  Holland,  against  Marshal  Luxembourg,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Turenne  in  the  Low  Countries,  the  latter  being  obliged  to 
march  against  the  imperialists  in  Westphalia.  He  next  advanced 
to  oppMDse  the  great  Conde,  who  occupied  Brabant  with  an  army  of 
45,000  men.  After  mucK  maneuvering,  in  which  the  Prince  of 
Orange  displayed  consummate  talent,  he  on  only  one  occasion  ex- 
posed a  part  of  his  army  to  a  disadvantageous  contest.  Conde 
seized  on  the  error,  and  of  his  own  accord  gave  the  battle  to  which 
his  young  opponent  could  not  succeed  in  forcing  him.  The  battle 
of  Senef  is  remarkable  not  merely  for  the  fury  with  which  it  was 
fought,  or  for  its  leaving  victory  undecided,  but  as  being  the  last 
combat  of  one  commander  and  the  first  of  the  other.  "  The  Prince 
of  Orange,"  said  the  veteran  Conde  (who  had  that  day  exposed  his 
person  more  than  on  any  previous  occasion),  "has  acted  in  every- 
thing like  an  old  captain,  except  venturing  his  life  too  like  a  young 
soldier." 

The  campaign  of  1675  offered  no  remarkable  event,  the  Prince 
of  Orange  with  great  prudence  avoiding  the  risk  of  a  battle.  But 
the  following  year  was  rendered  fatally  remarkable  by  the  death 
of  the  great  De  Ruyter,"  who  was  killed  in  an  action  against  the 
French  fleet  in  the  Mediterranean;  and  about  the  same  time  the 
not  less  celebrated  Turenne  met  his  death  from  a  cannon-ball  in 
the  midst  of  his  triutnphs  in  Germany.  This  year  was  doubly  oc- 
cupied in  a  negotiation  for  peace  and  an  active  prosecution  of  the 
war.  Louis,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  took  several  towns  in  Bel- 
gium; William  was  unsuccessful  in  an  attempt  on  Maestricht. 
About  the  beginning  of  winter  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  several 
belligerents  assembled  at  Nimeguen,  where  the  congress  for  peace 
was  held.  The  Hollanders,  loaded  with  debts  and  taxes,  and  seeing 
the  weakness  and  slowness  of  their  allies,  the  Spaniards  and  Ger- 
mans, prognosticated  nothing  but  misfortunes.  Their  commerce 
languished,  while  that  of  England,  now  neutral  amid  all  these 
quarrels,  flourished  extremely.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  however, 
ambitious  of  glory,  urged  another  campaign,  and  it  commenced 
accordingly. 

In  the  middle   of   February  Louis   carried   Valenciennes   by 

"The  council  of  Spain  gave  De  Ruyter  the  title  and  letters  patent  of  duke. 
The  latter  arrived  in  Holland  after  his  death,  and  his  children,  with  true  repub- 
lican spirit,  refused  to  adopt  the  title. 


WAR    WITH    ENGLAND  241 

1677-1678 

Storm  and  laid  siege  to  St.  Omer  and  Gambrai.  William,  though 
full  of  activity,  courage,  and  skill,  was,  nevertheless,  almost  always 
unsuccessful  in  the  field,  and  never  more  so  than  in  this  campaign. 
Several  towns  fell  almost  in  his  sight,  and  he  was  completely  de- 
feated in  the  great  battle  of  Cassel  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and 
Marshal  Luxembourg.  But  the  period  for  another  peace  was  now 
approaching.  Louis  offered  fair  terms  for  the  acceptance  of  the 
United  Provinces  at  the  Congress  of  Nimeguen,  April,  1678,  as  he 
now  considered  his  chief  enemies  Spain  and  the  Empire,  who  had 
at  first  only  entered  into  the  war  as  auxiliaries.  He  was  no  doubt 
principally  impelled  in  his  measures  by  the  marriage  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange  with  the  Lady  Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  the  Duke  of 
York  and  heir  presumptive  to  the  English  crown,  which  took  place 
on  October  23,  to  the  great  joy  of  both  the  Dutch  and  English 
nations.  Charles  was  at  this  moment  the  arbiter  of  the  peace  of 
Europe,  and  though  several  fluctuations  took  place  in  his  policy 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  as  the  urgent  wishes  of  the  Par- 
liament and  the  large  presents  of  Louis  differently  actuated  him, 
still  the  wiser  and  more  just  course  prevailed,  and  he  fiiially  de- 
cided the  balance  by  vigorously  declaring  his  resolution  for  peace. 
The  treaty  was  consequently  signed  at  Nimeguen  on  August  10, 
1678.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  from  private  motives  of  spleen,  or  a 
most  unjustifiable  desire  for  fighting,  took  the  extraordinary  meas- 
ure of  attacking  the  French  troops  under  Luxembourg,  near  Mons, 
four  days  after  the  signing  of  this  treaty.  He  must  have  known  it, 
even  though  it  were  not  officially  notified  to  him,  and  he  certainly 
had  to  answer  for  all  the  blood  so  wantonly  spilled  in  the  sharp 
though  undecisive  action  which  ensued.  Spain,  abandoned  to  her 
fate,  was  obliged  to  make  the  best  terms  she  could,  and  on  Septem- 
ber 17  she  also  concluded  a  treaty  with  France,  on  conditions 
entirely  favorable  to  the  latter  power. 

The  war  with  France  marks  the  beginning  of  the  decline  of 
the  United  Provinces  as  a  great  naval  power.  The  Prince  of 
Orange,  the  inveterate  enemy  of  Louis  XIV.,  devoted  his  life  and 
the  resources  of  the  state  to  the  land  struggle  with  the  great  French 
monarchy,  and  the  sea  power  of  Holland  was  henceforth  allowed 
to  sink  before  that  of  her  ally,  England.  From  this  time  we  may 
begin  to  date  the  decline  of  the  Dutch  Republic  as  a  power  of  the 
first  rank. 


Chapter    XX 

WILLIAM  III    AND  LOUIS  XIV.    1678-1713 

A  FEW  years  passed  over  after  this  period  without  the  oc- 
currence of  any  transaction  sufficiently  important  to  re- 
-  quire  a  mention  here.  Each  of  the  powers  so  lately  at 
war  followed  the  various  bent  of  their  respective  ambition. 
Charles  of  England  was  sufficiently  occupied  by  disputes  with  Par- 
liament, and  the  discovery,  fabrication,  and  punishment  of  plots, 
real  or  pretended.  Louis  XIV.,  by  a  stretch  of  audacious  pride 
hitherto  unknown,  arrogated  to  himself  the  supreme  power  of  regu- 
lating the  rest  of  Europe,  as  if  all  the  other  princes  were  his  vassals. 
He  established  courts,  or  chambers  of  reunion,  as  they  were  called, 
in  Metz  and  Breisach,  which  cited  princes,  issued  decrees,  and  au- 
thorized spoliation  in  the  most  unjust  and  arbitrary  manner. 
Louis  chose  to  award  to  himself  Luxemburg,  part  of  Alsace, 
and  a  considerable  portion  of  Brabant  and  Flanders.  He 
marched  a  considerable  army  into  Belgium,  which  the  Spanish 
governors  were  unable  to  oppose.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  who 
labored  incessantly  to  excite  a  confederacy  among  the  other  powers 
of  Europe  against  the  unwarrantable  aggressions  of  France,  was 
unable  to  arouse  his  countrymen  to  actual  war,  and  was  forced, 
instead  of  gaining  the  glory  he  longed  for,  to  consent  to  a  truce  for 
twenty  years,  which  the  states-general,  now  wholly  pacific  and  not 
a  little  cowardly,  were  too  happy  to  obtain  from  France.  The 
emperor  and  the  King  of  Spain  gladly  entered  into  a  like  treaty. 
The  fact  was  that  the  Peace  of  Nimeguen  had  disjointed  the  great 
confederacy  which  William  had  so  successfully  brought  about,  and 
the  various  powers  were  laid  utterly  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  the 
imperious  Louis,  who  for  a  while  held  the  destinies  of  Europe  in 
his  hands. 

Charles  II.  died  most  unexpectedly  in  the  year  1685,  and  his 
unfortunate  and  untalented  brother  and  successor,  James  II., 
seemed,  during  a  reign  of  not  four  years'   continuance,   to   rush 

2*2 


WILLIAM     AND     LOUIS  «4S 

1678-1688 

willfully  headlong  to  ruin.  During  this  period  the  Prince  of 
Orange  had  maintained  a  most  circumspect,  though  hardly  unex- 
ceptional, line  of  conduct.  He  seems  to  have  favored  the  rash  en- 
terprise of  the  unfortunate  Duke  of  Monmouth,  at  least  till  the 
latter  proclaimed  himself  king ;  and  he  was  in  constant  communica- 
tion with  the  English  malcontents  headed  by  Gilbert  Burnet.  But 
his  chief  energies  were  devoted  to  the  formation  of  another  league 
against  France,  Louis  XIV.  had  aroused  a  new  feeling  through- 
out Protestant  Europe  by  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 
The  refugees  whom  he  had  driven  from  their  native  country  in- 
spired in  those  in  which  they  settled  hatred  of  his  persecution  as 
well  as  alarm  of  his  ix)wer.  Holland  now  entered  into  all  the  views 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  By  his  immense  influence  he  succeeded 
in  forming  the  great  confederacy  called  the  League  of  Augsburg, 
to  which  the  emperor,  Spain,  and  almost  every  European  power 
but  England   became  parties. 

James  gave  the  prince  reason  to  believe  that  he  too  would  join 
in  this  great  project,  if  William  would  in  return  concur  in  his  views 
of  domestic  tyranny,  but  William  wisely  refused.  James,  much 
disappointed  and  irritated  by  the  moderation  which  showed  his 
own  violence  in  such  striking  contrast,  expressed  his  displeasure 
against  the  prince,  and'  against  the  Dutch  generally,  by  various 
vexatious  acts.  William  resolved  to  maintain  a  high  attitude,  and 
many  applications  were  made  to  him  by  the  most  considerable  per- 
sons in  England  for  relief  against  James's  violent  measures,  and 
which  there  was  but  one  method  of  making  eflfectual.  That 
method  was  force.  But  as  long  as  the  Princess  of  Orange  was 
certain  of  succeeding  to  the  crown  on  her  father's  death,  William 
hesitated  to  join  in  an  attempt  that  might  possibly  have  failed  and 
lost  her  her  inheritance.  But  the  birth  of  a  son,  which,  in  giving 
James  a  male  heir,  destroyed  all  hope  of  redress  for  the  kingdom, 
decided  the  wavering  and  rendered  the  determined  desperate.  The 
prince  chose  the  time  for  his  enterprise  with  the  sagacity,  arranged 
its  plan  with  the  prudence,  and  put  it  into  execution  with  the  vigor 
which  were  habitual  qualities  of  his  mind. 

Louis  XIV.,  menaced  by  the  League  of  Augsburg,  had  re- 
solved to  strike  the  first  blow  against  the  allies.  He  invaded  Ger- 
many, so  that  the  Dutch  preparations  seemed  in  the  first  instance 
intended  as  measures  of  defense  against  the  progress  of  the  French. 
But  Louis's  envoy  at  The  Hague  could  not  be  long  deceived.   He 


244.  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1688-1690 

gave  notice  to  his  master,  who  in  his  turn  warned  James,  But 
that  infatuated  monarch  not  only  doubted  the  intelHgence,  but  re- 
fused the  French  king's  offers  of  assistance  and  cooperation.  On 
October  21  the  Prince  of  Orange,  with  an  army  of  14,000  men 
and  a  fleet  of  500  vessels  of  all  kinds,  set  sail  from  Helvoetsluys, 
and  after  some  delays  from  bad  weather  he  safely  landed  his  army 
in  Torbay,  on  November  5,  1688.  The  desertion  of  James's  best 
friends,  his  own  consternation,  flight,  seizure,  and  second  escape, 
and  the  solemn  act  by  which  he  was  deposed,  were  the  rapid  oc- 
currences of  a  few  weeks.  And  thus  the  grandest  revolution  that 
England  had  ever  seen  was  happily  consummated.  Without  enter- 
ing here  on  legislative  reasonings  or  party  sophisms,  it  is  enough 
to  record  the  act  itself  and  to  say,  in  reference  to  our  more  imme- 
diate subject,  that  without  the  assistance  of  Holland  and  her  chief 
England  might  have  still  remained  enslaved,  or  have  had  to  pur- 
chase liberty  by  oceans  of  blood.  By  the  bill  of  settlement  the 
crown  was  conveyed  jointly  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange, 
the  sole  administration  of  government  to  remain  in  the  prince,  and 
the  new  sovereigns  were  proclaimed  on  February  23,  1689.  The 
convention  which  had  arranged  this  important  point  annexed  to 
the  settlement  a  declaration  of  rights  by  which  the  powers  of  royal 
prerogative  and  the  extent  of  popular  privilege  were  defined  and 
guaranteed. 

William,  now  become  King  of  England,  still  preserved  his 
title  of  stadtholder  of  Holland,  and  presented  the  singular  instance 
of  a  monarchy  and  a  republic  being  at  the  same  time  governed  by 
the  same  individual.  But  whether  as  a  king  or  a  citizen,  William 
was  actuated  by  one  grand  and  powerful  principle,  to  which  every 
act  of  private  administration  was  made  subservient,  although  it 
certainly  called  for  no  sacrifice  that  was  not  required  for  the  politi- 
cal existence  of  the  two  nations  of  which  he  was  the  head.  In- 
veterate opposition  to  the  power  of  Louis  XIV.  was  this  all- 
absorbing  motive.  A  sentiment  so  mighty  left  William  but  little 
time  for  inferior  points  of  government,  and  everything  but  that 
seems  to  have  irritated  and  disgusted  him.  He  was  soon  again 
on  the  Continent,  the  chief  theater  of  his  efforts.  He  put  himself 
in  front  of  the  confederacy  which  resulted  from  the  Congress  of 
Utrecht  in  1690.  He  took  the  command  of  the  allied  army,  and  till 
the  hour  of  his  death  he  never  ceased  his  indefatigable  course  of 
hostility,  whether  in  the  camp  or  the  cabinet,  at  the  head  of  the 


WILLIAM     AND    LOUIS  245 

1690-1696 

allied  armies,  or  as  the  guiding  spirit  of  the  councils  which  gave 
them  force  and  motion. 

Several  campaigns  were  expended  and  bloody  combats  fought, 
almost  all  to  the  disadvantage  of  William,  whose  genius  for  war 
was  never  seconded  by  that  good  fortune  which  so  often  decides 
the  fate  of  battles  in  defiance  of  all  the  calculations  of  talent.  But 
no  reverse  had  power  to  shake  the  constancy  and  courage  of  Wil- 
liam. He  always  appeared  as  formidable  after  defeat  as  he  was 
before  action.  His  conquerors  gained  little  but  the  honor  of  the 
day.  Fleurus,  Steenkirk,  Neerwinden,  were  successively  the  scenes 
of  his  evil  fortune  and  the  sources  of  his  fame.  His  retreats  were 
master  strokes  of  vigilant  activity  and  profound  combinations. 
Many  eminent  sieges  took  place  during  this  war.  Among  other 
towns,  Mons  and  Namur  were  taken  by  the  French,  and  Huy  by 
the  allies,  and  the  army  of  Marshal  Villeroi  bombarded  Brussels 
during  three  days,  in  August,  1695,  with  such  fury  that  the  town- 
house,  fourteen  churches,  and  four  thousand  houses  were  reduced 
to  ashes.  The  year  following  this  event  saw  another  undecisive 
campaign.  During  the  continuance  of  this  war  the  naval  trans- 
actions present  no  grand  results,  though  the  allied  English  and 
Dutch  fleets  defeated  the  French  in  a  great  battle  off  Cape  la 
Hogne.  Du  Bart,  a  celebrated  adventurer  of  Dunkirk,  occupies 
the  leading  place  in  these  affairs,  in  which  he  carried  on  a  desultory 
but  active  warfare  against  the  Dutch  and  English  fleets,  and  gen- 
erally with  great  success. 

All  the  nations  which  had  taken  part  in  so  many  wars  were 
now  becoming  exhausted  by  the  contest,  but  none  so  much  so  as 
France.  The  great  despot  who  had  so  long  wielded  the  energies 
of  that  country  with  such  wonderful  splendor  and  success  found 
that  his  unbounded  love  of  dominion  was  gradually  sapping  all  the 
real  good  of  his  people  in  chimerical  schemes  of  universal  conquest. 
England,  though  with  much  resolution  voting  new  supplies,  and  in 
every  way  upholding  William  in  his  plans  for  the  continuance  of 
war,  was  rejoiced  when  Louis  accepted  the  mediation  of  Charles 
XL,  King  of  Sweden,  and  agreed  to  concessions  which  made  peace 
feasible.  The  emperor  and  Charles  II.  of  Spain  were  less  satisfied 
with  those  concessions,  but  everything  was  finally  arranged  to 
meet  the  general  views  of  the  parties,  and  negotiations  were  opened 
at  Ryswick.  The  death  of  the  King  of  Sweden  and  the  minority 
of  his  son  and  successor,  the  celebrated  Charles  XII.,  retarded  them 


246  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1697-1700 

on  points  of  form  for  some  time.  At  length,  on  September  20, 
1697,  the  articles  of  the  treaty  were  subscribed  by  the  Dutch, 
English,  Spanish,  and  French  ambassadors.  The  treaty  consisted 
of  seventeen  articles.  The  French  king  declared  he  would  not  dis- 
turb or  disquiet  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  whose  title  he  now  for 
the  first  time  acknowledged.  Between  France  and  Holland  were 
declared  a  general  armistice,  perpetual  amity,  a  mutual  restitution 
of  towns,  a  reciprocal  renunciation  of  all  pretensions  upon  each 
other,  and  a  treaty  of  commerce  which  was  immediately  put  into 
execution. 

Thus,  after  this  long,  expensive,  and  sanguinary  war  things 
were  established  just  on  the  footing  they  had  been  by  the  Peace 
of  Nimeguen,  and  a  great,  though  unavailable,  lesson  read  to 
the  world  on  the  futility  and  wickedness  of  those  quarrels  in 
which  the  personal  ambition  of  kings  leads  to  the  misery  of  the 
people.  Had  the  allies  been  true  to  each  other  throughout,  Louis 
would  certainly  have  been  reduced  much  lower  than  he  now  was. 
His  pride  was  humbled  and  his  encroachments  stopped.  But  the 
sufferings  of  the  various  countries  engaged  in  the  war  were  too 
generally  reciprocal  to  make  its  result  of  any  material  benefit  to 
either.  The  emperor  held  out  for  a  while,  encouraged  by  the  great 
victory  gained  by  his  general,  Prince  Eugene  of  Savoy,  over  the 
Turks  at  Zenta  in  Hungary,  but  he  finally  acceded  to  the  terms 
offered  by  France.  The  peace,  therefore,  became  general,  but 
unfortunately  for  Europe  of  very  short  duration. 

France,  as  if  looking  forward  to  the  speedy  renewal  of  hostili- 
ties, still  kept  her  armies  undisbanded.  Let  the  foresight  of  her 
politicians  have  been  what  it  might,  this  negative  proof  of  it  was 
justified  by  events.  The  King  of  Spain,  a  weak  prince,  without 
any  direct  heir  for  his  possessions,  considered  himself  authorized 
to  dispose  of  their  succession  by  will.  The  leading  powers  of 
Europe  thought  otherwise,  and  took  this  right  upon  themselves. 
Charles  died  on  November  i,  1700,  and  thus  put  the  important 
question  to  the  test.  By  a  solemn  testament  he  declared  Philip, 
Duke  of  Anjou,  second  son  of  the  Dauphin  and  grandson  of  Louis 
XIV.,  his  successor  to  the  whole  of  the  Spanish  monarchy.  Louis 
immediately  renounced  his  adherence  to  the  treaties  of  partition 
executed  at  The  Hague  and  in  London  in  1698  and  1700,  and  to 
which  he  had  been  a  contracting  party,  and  prepared  to  maintain 
the  act  by  which  the  last  of  the  descendants   of   Charles  V.   be- 


WILLIAM    AND    LOUIS  «4Tfi 

1700-1701 

queathed  the  possessions  of  Spain  and  the  Indies  to  the  family 
which  had  so  long  been  the  inveterate  enemy  and  rival  of  his  own. 

The  Emperor  Leopold,  on  his  part,  prepared  to  defend  his 
claims,  and  thus  commenced  the  new  war  between  him  and  France, 
which  took  its  name  from  the  succession  which  formed  the  object 
of  dispute.  Hostilities  were  commenced  in  Italy,  where  Prince 
Eugene,  the  conqueror  of  the  Turks,  commanded  for  Leopold,  and 
every  day  made  for  himself  a  still  more  brilliant  reputation.  Louis 
sent  his  grandson  to  Spain  to  take  possession  of  the  inheritance, 
for  which  so  hard  a  fight  was  yet  to  be  maintained,  with  the  strik- 
ing expression  at  parting :  "  My  child,  there  are  no  longer  any 
Pyrenees.! "  an  expression  most  happily  unprophetic  for  the  future 
independence  of  Europe,  for  the  moral  force  of  the  barrier  has  long 
existed  after  the  expiration  of  the  family  compact  which  was  meant 
to  deprive  it  of  its  strength. 

Louis  prepared  to  act  vigorously.  Among  other  measures,  he 
caused  part  of  the  Dutch  army  that  was  quartered  in  Luxemburg 
and  Brabant  to  be  suddenly  made  prisoners  of  war,  because  they 
would  not  own  Philip  V.  as  King  of  Spain.  The  states-general, 
who  were  dreadfully  alarmed,  immediately  made  the  required  ac- 
knowledgment, and  in  consequence  had  their  soldiers  released. 
They  quickly  reinforced  their  garrisons,  purchased  supplies,  solic- 
ited foreign  aid,  and  prepared  for  the  worst  that  might  happen. 
They  wrote  to  King  William,  professing  the  most  inviolable  attach- 
ment to  England,  and  he  met  their  application  by  warm  assurances 
of  support  and  an  immediate  reinforcement  of  three  regiments. 

William  followed  up  these  measures  by  the  formation  of  the 
celebrated  treaty  called  the  Grand  Alliance,  by  which  England,  the 
states,  and  the  emperor  covenanted  for  the  support  of  the  preten- 
sions of  the  latter  to  the  Spanish  monarchy.  William  was  pre- 
paring, in  spite  of  his  declining  health,  to  take  his  usual  lead  in  the 
military  operations  now  decided  on,  and  almost  all  Europe  was 
again  looking  forward  to  his  guidance,  when  he  died  on  March  8, 
.1701,  leaving  his  great  plans  to  receive  their  execution  from  still 
more  able  adepts  in  the  art  of  war. 

William's  character  has  been  traced  by  many  hands.  In  his 
capacity  of  King  of  England  it  is  not  our  province  to  judge  him 
in  this  place.  As  stadtholder  of  Holland  he  merits  unqualified 
praise.  Like  his  great  ancestor,  William  I.,  whom  he  more  re- 
sembled than  any  other  of  his  race,  he  saved  the  country  in  a  time 


248  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1701 

of  such  imminent  peril  that  its  abandonment  seemed  the  only  re- 
source left  to  the  inhabitants,  who  preferred  self-exile  to  slavery. 
All  his  acts  were  certainly  merged  in  the  one  overwhelming  object 
of  a  great  ambition — that  noble  quality,  which,  if  coupled  with  the 
love  of  country,  is  the  very  essence  of  true  heroism.  Yet  his  cold 
and  haughty  temperament  and  his  indifference  to  others  prevented 
him  from  gaining  the  affections  of  his  subjects,  and  he  died  re- 
spected rather  than  lamented  by  the  peoples  over  whom  he  had 
ruled.  William  was  the  last  of  that  illustrious  line  which  for  a 
century  and  a  half  had  filled  Europe  with  admiration.  He  never 
had  a  child,  and  being  himself  an  only  one,  his  title  as  Prince 
of  Orange  passed  into  another  branch  of  the  family.  He  left 
his  cousin.  Prince  Prison  of  Nassau,  the  stadtholder  of  Friesland, 
his  sole  and  universal  heir,  and  appointed  the  states-general  his 
executors. 

William's  death  filled  Holland  with  mourning  and  alarm. 
The  meeting  of  the  states-general  after  this  sad  intelligence  was 
of  a  most  affecting  description,  but  William,  like  all  master-minds, 
had  left  the  mantle  of  his  inspiration  on  his  friends  and  followers. 
Heinsius,  the  grand  pensionary,  followed  up  the  views  of  the 
stadtholder  with  considerable  energy,  and  was  answered  by  the 
unanimous  exertions  of  the  country.  Strong  assurances  of  sup- 
port from  Queen  Anne,  William's  successor,  still  further  encour- 
aged the  republic,  which  now  vigorously  prepared  for  war.  But 
it  did  not  lose  this  occasion  of  recurring  to  the  form  of  government 
of  1650.  No  new  stadtholder  was  now  appointed,  the  supreme 
authority  being  vested  in  the  general  assembly  of  the  states,  and 
the  active  direction  of  affairs  confided  to  the  grand  pensionary. 
This  departure  from  the  form  of  government  which  had  been  on 
various  occasions  proved  to  be  essential  to  the  safety,  although  at 
all  times  hazardous  to  the  independence,  of  the  states,  was  not 
attended  with  any  evil  consequences.  The  factions  and  the  anarchy 
which  had  before  been  the  consequence  of  the  course  now  adopted, 
were  prevented  by  the  potent  influence  of  national  fear  lest  the 
enemy  might  triumph  and  crush  the  hopes,  the  jealousies,  and  the 
enmities  of  all  parties  in  one  general  ruin.  Thus  the  common 
danger  awoke  a  common  interest,  and  the  splendid  successes  of 
her  allies  kept  Holland  steady  in  the  career  of  patriotic  energy 
which  had  its  rise  in  the  dread  of  her  redoubtable  foe. 

The  joy  in  France  at  William's  death  was  proportionate  to  the 


WILLIAM     AND     LOUIS  fM/9 

1701 

grief  it  created  in  Holland,  and  the  arrogant  confidence  of  Louis 
seemed  to  know  no  bounds.  "  I  will  punish  these  audacious  mer- 
chants," said  he,  with  an  air  of  disdain,  when  he  read  the  manifesto 
of  Holland,  not  foreseeing  that  those  he  affected  to  despise  so  much 
would,  ere  long,  command  in  a  great  measure  the  destinies  of  his 
crown.  Queen  Anne  assured  the  states  of  her  determination  to 
maintain  all  the  alliances  formed  by  the  late  king.  Efforts  were 
made  by  the  English  ministry  and  the  states-general  to  mediate 
between  the  kings  of  Sweden  and  Poland.  But  Charles  XH.,  enam- 
ored of  glory  and  bent  on  the  one  great  object  of  his  designs  against 
Russia,  would  listen  to  nothing  that  might  lead  him  from  his  imme- 
diate career  of  victory.  Many  other  of  the  northern  princes  were 
withheld  by  various  motives  from  entering  into  the  contest  with 
France,  and  its  whole  brunt  devolved  on  the  original  members  of 
the  grand  alliance.  The  generals  who  carried  it  on  were  Marlbor- 
ough and  Prince  Eugene.  The  former,  at  its  commencement  an 
earl,  and  subsequently  raised  to  the  dignity  of  duke,  was  declared 
generalissimo  of  the  Dutch  and  English  forces.  He  was  a  man  of 
most  powerful  genius,  both  as  warrior  and  politician.  A  pupil  of 
the  great  Turenne,  his  exploits  left  those  of  his  master  in  the  shade. 
No  commander  ever  possessed  in  a  greater  degree  the  faculty  of 
forming  vast  designs  and  of  carrying  them  into  effect  with  consum- 
mate skill;  no  one  displayed  more  coolness  and  courage  in  action, 
saw  with  a  keener  eye  the  errors -of  the  enemy,  or  knew  better  how 
to  profit  by  success.  He  never  laid  siege  to  a  town  that  he  did  not 
take,  and  never  fought  a  battle  that  he  did  not  gain. 

Prince  Eugene  joined  to  the  highest  order  of  personal  bravery 
a  profound  judgment  for  the  grand  movements  of  war  and  a 
capacity  for  the  most  minute  of  the  minor  details  on  which  their 
successful  issue  so  often  depends.  United  in  the  same  cause,  these 
two  great  generals  pursued  their  course  without  the  least  misunder- 
standing. At  the  close  of  each  of  those  successive  campaigns  in 
which  they  reaped  such  a  full  harvest  of  renown  they  retired  together 
to  The  Hague  to  arrange  in  the  profoundest  secrecy  the  plans  for 
the  next  year's  operations  with  one  other  person  who  formed  the 
great  point  of  union  between  them,  and  completed  a  triumvirate 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  political  affairs.  This  third  was 
Heinsius,  one  of  those  great  men  produced  by  the  republic  whose 
names  are  tantamount  to  the  most  detailed  eulogium  for  talent  and 
patriotism.     Every  enterprise  projected  by  the  confederates  was 


250  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1702-1709 

deliberately  examined,  rejected,  or  approved  by  these  three  asso- 
ciates, whose  strict  union  of  purpose,  disowning  all  petty  rivalry, 
formed  the  center  of  counsels  and  the  source  of  circumstances  finally 
so  fatal  to  France. 

Louis  XIV.,  now  sixty  years  of  age,  could  no  longer  himself 
command  his  armies,  or  probably  did  not  wish  to  risk  the  reputation 
he  was  conscious  of  having  gained  by  the  advice  and  services  of 
Turenne,  Conde,  and  Luxembourg.  Louvois,  his  great  war  minis- 
ter, too,  was  dead,  and  Colbert  no  longer  managed  his  finances.  A 
council  of  rash  and  ignorant  ministers  hung  like  a  dead  weight  on 
the  talent  of  the  generals  who  succeeded  the  great  men  above  men- 
tioned. Favor  and  not  merit  too  often  decided  promotion  and  lav- 
ished command.  Vendome,  Villars,  Boufflers,  and  Berwick  were 
set  aside  to  make  way  for  Villeroi,  Tallard,  and  Marsin,  men  every 
way  inferior. 

The  war  began  in  1702  in  Italy,  and  Marlborough  opened  his 
first  campaign  in  Brabant  also  in  that  year.  For  several  succeeding 
years  the  confederates  pursued  a  career  of  brilliant  success,  the 
details  of  which  do  not  properly  belong  to  this  work.  A  mere 
chronology  of  celebrated  battles  would  be  of  little  interest,  and  the 
pages  of  history  abound  in  records  of  those  deeds.  Blenheim, 
Ramillies,  Oudenarde,  and  Malplaquet  are  names  that  speak  for 
themselves,  and  tell  their  own  tale  of  glory.  The  utter  humiliation 
of  the  French  monarchy  was  the  result  of  the  brilliant  campaigns 
to  whose  success  the  courage  and  devotion  of  the  Dutch  largely  con- 
tributed. The  naval  affairs  of  Holland  offered  nothing  very  remark- 
able. The  states  had  always  a  fleet  ready  to  support  the  English  in 
their  enterprises,  but  no  eminent  admiral  arose  to  rival  the  renown 
of  Rook,  Byng,  Benbow,  and  others  of  their  allies.  The  first  of 
these  admirals  took  Gibraltar,  which  has  ever  since  remained  in  the 
possession  of  England.  The  Earl  of  Peterborough  carried  on  the 
war  with  splendid  success  in  Portugal  and  Spain,  supported  occa- 
sionally by  the  English  fleet  under  Sir  Cloudesley  Shovel,  and  that 
of  Holland  under  Admirals  Allemonde  and  Wapenaer. 

During  the  progress  of  the  war  the  haughty  and  long-time 
imperial  Louis  was  reduced  to  a  state  of  humiliation  that  excited  a 
compassion  so  profound  as  to  prevent  its  own  open  expression — the 
most  galling  of  all  sentiments  to  a  proud  mind.  In  the  year  1709 
he  solicited  peace  on  terms  of  most  abject  submission.  The  states- 
general,  under  the  influence  of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  and  Prince 


WILLIAM     AND     LOUIS  «61 

1710-1713 

Eugene,  rejected  all  his  supplications,  retorting  unsparingly  the 
insolent  harshness  with  which  he  had  formerly  received  similar 
proposals  from  them.  France,  roused  to  renewed  exertions  by  the 
insulting  treatment  experienced  by  her  humiliated  but  still  haughty 
despot,  made  prodigious  and  not  altogether  vain  efforts  to  repair 
her  ruinous  losses.  In  the  following  year  Louis  renewed  his  attempts 
to  obtain  some  tolerable  conditions,  offering  to  renounce  his  grand- 
son, and  to  comply  with  all  the  former  demands  of  the  confederates. 
Even  these  overtures  were  rejected,  Holland  and  England  appear- 
ing satisfied  with  nothing  short  of,  what  was  after  all  impracticable, 
the  total  destruction  of  the  great  power  which  Louis  had  so  long 
proved  to  be  incompatible  with  their  welfare.  The  war  still  went 
on,  and  the  taking  of  Bouchain  on  August  30,  171 1,  closed  the 
almost  unrivaled  military  career  of  Marlborough  by  the  success  of 
one  of  the  boldest  and  best-conducted  exploits.  Party  intrigue  had 
Stccomplished  the  disgrace  of  this  great  soldier.  The  new  ministry, 
who  hated  the  Dutch,  now  entered  seriously  into  negotiations  with 
France.  The  queen  acceded  to  these  views,  and  sent  special  envoys 
to  communicate  with  the  court  of  Versailles.  The  states-general 
finding  it  impossible  to  continue  hostilities  if  England  withdrew 
from  the  coalition,  conferences  were  consequently  opened  at  Utrecht 
in  the  month  of  January,  171 2.  England  took  the  important  station 
of  arbiter  in  the  great  question  there  debated.  The  only  essential 
conditions  which  she  demanded  individually  were  the  renunciation 
of  all  claims  to  the  crown  of  France  by  Philip  V.  and  the  demolition 
of  the  harbor  of  Dunkirk.  The  first  of  these  was  the  more  readily 
acceded  to,  as  the  great  battles  of  Almanza  and  Villaviciosa,  gained 
by  Philip's  generals,  the  Dukes  of  Berwick  and  Vendome,  had 
steadily  fixed  him  on  the  throne  of  Spain — a  point  still  more  firmly 
secured  by  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Joseph  I.,  son  of  Leopold,  and 
the  elevation  of  his  brother  Charles,  Philip's  competitor  for  the 
crown  of  Spain,  to  the  imperial  dignity  by  the  title  of  Charles  VI. 

The  peace  was  not  definitively  signed  until  April  11,  1713,  and 
France  obtained  far  better  conditions  than  those  which  were  refused 
her  a  few  years  previously.  The  Belgian  provinces  were  given  to 
the  new  emperor,  and  must  henceforth  be  called  the  Austrian  instead 
of  the  Spanish  Netherlands.  The  gold  and  the  blood  of  Holland 
had  been  profusely  expended  during  this  contest,  it  might  seem  for 
no  positive  results.  But  the  exhaustion  produced  to  every  one  of 
the  other  belligerents  was  a  source  of  peace  and  prosperity  to  the 


252  HOLLAND    AND     BELGIUM 

1713-1718 

republic.  Its  commerce  was  reestablished,  its  financial  resources 
recovered  their  level,  and  altogether  we  must  fix  on  the  epoch  now 
before  us  as  that  of  its  utmost  point  of  influence  and  greatness. 
France,  on  the  contrary,  was  now  reduced  from  its  palmy  state  of 
almost  European  sovereignty  to  one  of  the  deepest  misery,  and  its 
monarch  in  his  old  age  found  little  left  of  his  former  power  but 
those  records  of  poetry,  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture  which 
tell  posterity  of  his  magnificence,  and  the  splendor  of  which  throw 
his  faults  and  his  misfortunes  into  the  shade. 

The  great  object  now  to  be  accomplished  by  the  United  Prov- 
inces was  the  regulation  of  a  distinct  and  guaranteed  line  of  fron- 
tier between  the  republic  and  France.  This  object  had  become  by 
degrees,  ever  since  the  Peace  of  Munster,  a  fundamental  maxim  of 
their  politics.  The  interposition  of  the  Belgian  provinces  between 
the  republic  and  France  was  of  serious  inconvenience  to  the  former 
in  this  point  of  view.  It  was  made  the  subject  of  a  special  article  in 
"  the  grand  alliance."  In  the  year  1707  it  was  particularly  discussed 
between  England  and  the  states,  to  the  great  discontent  of  the 
emperor,  who  was  far  from  wishing  its  definitive  settlement.  But 
it  was  now  become  an  indispensable  item  in  the  total  of  important 
measures  whose  accomplishment  was  called  for  by  the  Peace  of 
Utrecht.  Conferences  were  opened  on  the  sole  question  at  Antwerp 
in  the  year  1714,  and,  after  protracted  and  difficult  discussions,  the 
Treaty  of  the  Barrier  was  concluded  on  November  15,  171 5,  by 
which  the  emperor  ceded  to  the  states  several  places  which  they 
considered  essential  for  their  safety. 

This  treaty  was  looked  on  with  an  evil  eye  in  the  Austrian 
Netherlands.  The  clamor  was  great  and  general,  jealousy  of  the 
commercial  prosperity  of  Holland  being  the  real  motive.  Long 
negotiations  took  place  on  the  subject  of  the  treaty,  and  in  Decem- 
ber, 1 718,  the  republic  consented  to  modify  some  of  the  articles. 
The  Pragmatic  Sanction,  published  at  Vienna  in  171 3  by  Charles 
VI.,  regulated  the  succession  to  all  the  imperial  hereditary  posses- 
sions, and,  among  the  rest,  the  provinces  of  the  Netherlands.  But 
this  arrangement,  though  guaranteed  by  the  chief  powers  of 
Europe,  was,  in  the  sequel,  little  respected,  and  but  indifferently 
executed. 


Chapter    XXI 

DECLINE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.     1713-1794 

DURING  a  period  of  thirty  years  following  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht  the  republic  enjoyed  the  unaccustomed  blessing  of 
profound  peace.  While  the  discontents  of  the  Austrian 
Netherlands  on  the  subject  of  the  Treaty  of  the  Barrier  were  in 
debate,  the  Quadruple  Alliance  was  formed  between  Holland,  Eng- 
land, France,  and  the  emperor  for  reciprocal  aid  against  all  enemies, 
foreign  and  domestic.  It  was  in  virtue  of  this  treaty  that  the  pre- 
tender to  the  English  throne  received  orders  to  remove  from  France ; 
and  the  states-general  about  the  same  time  arrested  the  Swedish 
ambassador,  Baron  Gortz,  whose  intrigues  excited  some  suspicion. 
The  death  of  Louis  XIV.  had  once  more  changed  the  political  sys- 
tem of  Europe,  and  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century 
\vas  fertile  in  negotiations  and  alliances  in  which  we  have  at  present 
but  little  direct  interest.  The  rights  of  the  republic  were  in  all 
instances  respected,  and  Holland  did  not  cease  to  be  considered  as  a 
power  of  the  first  distinction  and  consequence.  The  establishment 
of  an  East  India  Company  at  Ostend,  by  the  Emperor  Charles  VI., 
in  1722,  was  the  principal  cause  of  disquiet  to  the  United  Provinces, 
and  the  most  likely  to  lead  to  a  rupture.  But  by  the  Treaty  of  Han- 
over in  1726  the  rights  of  Holland  resulting  from  the  Treaty  of 
Munster,  by  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  Spanish  Netherlands  had 
been  excluded  from  the  trade  with  the  Indies,  were  guaranteed,  and 
in  consequence  the  emperor  abolished  the  company  of  his  creation  by 
the  Treaty  of  Seville  in  1729,  and  that  of  Vienna  in  1731. 

The  peace  which  now  reigned  in  Europe  allowed  the  United 
Provinces  to  direct  their  whole  efforts  toward  the  reform  of  those 
internal  abuses  resulting  from  feudality  and  fanaticism.  Confisca- 
tions were  reversed  and  property  secured  throughout  the  republic. 
It  received  into  its  protection  the  persecuted  sectarians  of  France, 
Germany,  and  Hungary,  and  the  tolerant  wisdom  which  it  exercised 
in  these  measures  gives  the  best  assurance  of  its  justice  and  pru- 
dence. A  solitary  exception  to  them  was  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits, 

253 


254.  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1732-1742 

whose  doctrines  had  long  caused  uneasiness  to  the  Protestant  states 
of  Europe. 

In  the  year  1732  the  United  Provinces  were  threatened  with 
imminent  peril,  which  accident  alone  prevented  from  becoming-  fatal 
to  their  very  existence.  It  was  perceived  that  the  dikes,  which  had 
for  ages  preserved  the  coasts,  were  in  many  places  crumbling  to 
ruin,  in  spite  of  the  enormous  expenditure  of  money  and  labor 
devoted  to  their  preservation.  By  chance  it  was  discovered  that 
the  beams,  piles,  and  other  timber  works  employed  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  dikes  were  eaten  through  in  all  parts  by  a  species  of  sea- 
worm  hitherto  unknown.  The  terror  of  the  people  was,  as  may  be 
supposed,  extreme.  Every  available  resource  was  applied  which 
possibly  could  remedy  the  evil,  when  a  hard  frost  providentially 
set  in  and  destroyed  the  formidable  reptiles,  and  the  country  was 
thus  saved  from  a  danger  tenfold  greater  than  that  involved  in 
a  dozen  wars. 

The  peace  of  Europe  was  once  more  disturbed  in  1733.  Poland, 
Germany,  France,  and  Spain  were  all  embarked  in  the  new  war. 
Holland  and  England  stood  aloof,  and  another  family  alliance  of 
great  consequence  drew  still  closer  than  ever  the  bonds  of  union 
between  them.  The  young  Prince  of  Orange,  who  in  1728  had  been 
elected  stadtholder  of  Groningen  and  Guelders,  in  addition  to  that 
of  Friesland,  which  had  been  enjoyed  by  his  father,  had  in  the  year 
1734  married  the  Princess  Anne,  daughter  of  George  II.  of  England, 
and  by  thus  adding  to  the  consideration  of  the  house  of  Nassau  had 
opened  a  field  for  the  recovery  of  all  its  old  distinctions. 

The  death  of  Emperor  Charles  VI.,  in  October,  1740,  left  his 
daughter,  the  Archduchess  Maria  Theresa,  heiress  of  his  throne  and 
possessions.  Young,  beautiful,  and  endowed  with  qualities  of  the 
highest  order,  she  was  surrounded  with  enemies  whose  envy  and 
ambition  would  have  despoiled  her  of  her  splendid  rights.  Fred- 
erick of  Prussia,  sumamed  the  Great,  the  electors  of  Bavaria  and 
Saxony,  and  the  kings  of  Spain  and  Sardinia  all  pressed  forward 
to  the  spoliation  of  an  inheritance  which  seemed  a  fair  play  for  all 
comers.  But  Maria  Theresa,  first  joining  her  husband,  Duke  Fran- 
cis of  Lorraine,  in  her  sovereignty,  but  without  prejudice  to  it, 
under  the  title  of  co-regent,  took  an  attitude  truly  heroic.  When 
everything  seemed  to  threaten  the  dismemberment  of  her  states  she 
threw  herself  upon  the  generous  fidelity  of  her  Hungarian  subjects 
with  a  dignified  resolution  that  has  few  examples.    There  was  impe- 


DECLINE     OF    REPUBLIC  «55 

1743-1748 

rial  grandeur  even  in  her  appeal  to  their  compassion.  The  results 
were  electrical,  and  the  whole  tide  of  fortune  was  rapidly  turned. 

England  and  Holland  were  the  first  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the 
young  empress.  George  II.,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  gained  the 
victory  of  Dettingen,  in  support  of  her  quarrel,  in  1743.  Louis 
XV.  resolved  to  throw  his  whole  influence  into  the  scale  against 
these  generous  efforts  in  the  princess's  favor,  and  he  invaded  the 
Austrian  Netherlands  in  the  following  year.  Marshal  Saxe 
commanded  under  him,  and  at  first  carried  everything  before 
him.  Holland,  having  furnished  20,000  troops  and  six  ships  of 
war  to  George  II.  on  the  invasion  of  the  young  pretender,  was 
little  in  a  state  to  oppose  any  formidable  resistance  to  the  enemy 
that  threatened  her  own  frontiers.  The  republic,  wholly  attached 
for  so  long  a  period  to  pursuits  of  peace  and  commerce,  had  no 
longer  good  generals  nor  effective  armies,  nor  could  it  even  put  a 
fleet  of  any  importance  to  sea.  Yet  with  all  these  disadvantages  it 
would  not  yield  to  the  threats  nor  the  demands  of  France,  resolving 
to  risk  a  new  war  rather  than  succumb  to  an  enemy  it  had  once  so 
completely  humbled  and  given  the  law  to. 

Conferences  were  opened  at  Breda,  but  interrupted  almost  as 
soon  as  commenced.  Hostilities  were  renewed.  The  memorable 
battle  of  Fontenoy  was  offered  and  gloriously  fought  by  the  allies ; 
accepted  and  splendidly  won  by  the  French.  Never  did  the  English 
and  Dutch  troops  act  more  nobly  in  concert  than  on  this  remarkable 
occasion.  The  valor  of  the  French  was  not  less  conspicuous,  and 
the  success  of  the  day  was  in  a  great  measure  decided  by  the  Irish 
battalions,  sent,  by  the  lamentable  politics  of  those  and  much  later 
days,  to  swell  the  ranks  and  gain  the  battles  of  England's  enemies. 
Marshal  Saxe  followed  up  his  advantage  the  following  year,  taking 
Brussels  and  many  other  towns.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  Austrian 
Netherlands  being  now  in  the  power  of  Louis  XV.,  and  the  United 
Provinces  again  exposed  to  invasion  and  threatened  with  danger, 
they  had  once  more  recourse  to  the  old  expedient  of  the  elevation  of 
the  house  of  Orange,  which  in  times  of  imminent  peril  seemed  to 
present  a  never-failing  palladium.  Zealand  was  the  first  to  give 
the  impulsion;  the  other  provinces  soon  followed  the  example  and 
William  IV.  was  proclaimed  stadtholder  and  captain-genera]  amid 
the  almost  unanimous  rejoicings  of  all.  These  dignities  were  soon 
after  declared  hereditary  both  in  the  male  and  female  line  of  succes- 
sion of  the  house  of  Orange-Nassau. 


256  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1748-1765 

The  year  1748  saw  the  termination  of  the  brilliant  campaigns 
of  Louis  XV.  during  this  bloody  war  of  eight  years'  continuance. 
The  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  definitively  signed  on  October  18,  put 
an  end  to  hostilities.  Maria  Theresa  was  established  in  her  rights 
and  power,  and  Europe  saw  a  fair  balance  of  the  nations,  which 
gave  promise  of  security  and  peace.  But  the  United  Provinces, 
when  scarcely  recovering  from  struggles  which  had  so  checked  their 
prosperity,  were  employed  in  new  and  universal  grief  and  anxiety 
by  the  death  of  their  young  stadtholder,  which  happened  at  The 
Hague,  October  13,  1751.  He  had  long  been  kept  out  of  the  gov- 
ernment, though  by  no  means  deficient  in  the  talents  suited  to  his 
station.  His  son,  William  V.,  not  yet  four  years  old,  succeeded 
him,  under  the  guardianship  of  his  mother,  Anne  of  England, 
daughter  of  George  H.,  a  princess  represented  to  be  of  a  proud 
and  ambitious  temper,  who  immediately  assumed  a  high  tone  of 
authority  in  the  state. 

The  Seven  Years'  War,  which  agitated  the  north  of  Europe 
and  deluged  its  plains  with  blood,  was  almost  the  only  one  in  which 
the  republic  was  able  to  preserve  a  strict  neutrality  throughout.  But 
this  happy  state  of  tranquillity  was  not,  as  on  former  occasions, 
attended  by  that  prodigious  increase  of  commerce  and  that  accumu- 
lation of  wealth  which  had  so  often  astonished  the  world.  Differing 
with  England  on  the  policy  which  led  the  latter  to  weaken  and 
humiliate  France,  jealousies  sprang  up  between  the  two  countries, 
and  Dutch  commerce  became  the  object  of  the  most  vexatious  and 
injurious  efforts  on  the  part  of  England.  Remonstrance  was  vain, 
resistance  impossible,  and  the  decline  of  the  republic  hurried  rapidly 
on.  The  Hanseatic  towns,  the  American  colonies,  the  northern 
states  of  Europe,  and  France  itself  all  entered  into  the  rivalry  with 
Holland,  in  which,  however,  England  carried  off  the  most  important 
prizes.  Several  private  and  petty  encounters  took  place  between  the 
vessels  of  England  and  Holland,  in  consequence  of  the  pretensions 
of  the  former  to  the  right  of  search,  and  had  the  republic  possessed 
the  strength  of  former  periods,  and  the  talents  of  a  Tromp  or  a  De 
Ruyter,  a  new  war  would  no  doubt  have  been  the  result.  But  it 
was  forced  to  submit,  and  a  degrading  but  irritating  tranquillity 
was  the  consequence  for  several  years,  the  national  feeling  receiving 
a  salve  for  home  decline  by  some  extension  of  colonial  settlements 
in  the  East,  in  which  the  Island  of  Ceylon  was  included. 

In  the  midst  of  this  inglorious  state  of  things,  and  the  domestic 


DECLINE     OF     REPUBLIC  257 

1766-1780 

abundance  which  was  the  only  compensation  for  the  gradual  loss  of 
national  influence,  the  installation  of  William  V.  in  1766,  his  mar- 
riage with  the  Princess  of  Prussia,  niece  of  Frederick  the  Great,  in 
1768,  and  the  birth  of  two  sons,  the  eldest  on  August  24,  1772,  suc- 
cessively took  place.  Magnificent  fetes  celebrated  these  events,  the 
satisfied  citizens  little  imagining,  amid  their  indolent  rejoicings,  the 
dismal  futurity  of  revolution  and  distress  which  was  silently  but 
rapidly  preparing  for  their  country. 

Maria  Theresa,  reduced  to  widowhood  by  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band, whom  she  had  elevated  to  the  imperial  dignity  by  the  title  of 
Francis  I.,  continued  for  a  while  to  rule  singly  her  vast  possessions, 
and  had  profited  so  little  by  the  sufferings  of  her  own  early  reign 
that  she  joined  in  the  iniquitous  dismemberment  of  Poland,  which 
has  left  an  indelible  stain  on  her  memory,  and  on  that  of  Frederick 
of  Prussia  and  Catherine  of  Russia.  In  her  own  dominions  she  was 
adored,  and  her  name  is  to  this  day  cherished  in  Belgium  among 
the  dearest  recollections  of  the  people. 

The  shock  given  to  the  political  mind  of  Europe  by  the 
American  Revolution  was  soon  felt  in  the  Netherlands.  The 
wish  for  reform  was  not  merely  confined  to  the  people.  A  memora- 
ble instance  was  offered  by  Joseph  II.,  son  and  successor  of  Maria 
Theresa,  that  sovereigns  were  not  only  susceptible  of  rational  no- 
tions of  change,  but  that  the  infection  of  radical  extravagance  could 
penetrate  even  to  the  imperial  crown.  Joseph  commenced  his  reign 
by  measures  aimed  at  the  authority  of  the  clergy  of  Belgium.  The 
desperate  spirit  of  hostility  in  the  priesthood  soon  spread  among 
the  mass  of  the  people.  Miscalculating  his  own  power,  and  under- 
valuing that  of  the  priests,  the  emperor  issued  decrees  and  edicts 
with  a  sweeping  violence  that  shocked  every  prejudice  and  roused 
every  passion  perilous  to  the  country.  Toleration  to  the  Protes- 
tants, emancipation  of  the  clergy  from  the  Papal  rule,  application 
of  the  principles  of  the  Reformation  in  the  system  of  theological 
instruction,  were  among  the  wholesale  measures  of  the  emperor's 
enthusiasm,  so  imprudently  attempted  and  so  virulently  opposed. 

But  ere  the  deep-sown  seeds  ripened  to  revolt,  or  produced 
the  fruit  of  active  resistance  in  Belgium,  Holland  had  to  endure 
the  mortification  of  another  war  with  England.  The  republic 
resolved  on  a  futile  imitation  of  the  northern  powers,  who  had 
adopted  the  difficult  and  anomalous  system  of  an  armed  neutrality, 
for  the  prevention  of  English  domination  on  the  seas.     The  right 


258  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1781-1785 

of  search,  so  proudly  established  by  this  power,  was  not  likely  to  be 
wrenched  from  it  by  manifestoes  or  remonstrances,  and  Holland 
was  not  capable  of  a  more  effectual  warfare.  In  the  year  1781  St. 
Eustache,  Surinam,  Essequibo,  and  Demerara,  Dutch  colonies  in 
the  West  Indies,  were  taken  by  British  valor,  and  in  the  following 
year  several  of  the  Dutch  colonies  in  the  East,  well  fortified  but  ill 
defended,  also  fell  into  the  hands  of  England.  Almost  the  whole 
of  these  colonies,  the  remnants  of  prodigious  power  acquired  by 
such  incalculable  instances  of  enterprise  and  courage,  were  one  by 
one  assailed  and  taken.  But  this  did  not  suffice  for  the  satisfaction 
of  English  objects  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  It  was  also  re- 
solved to  deprive  Holland  of  the  Baltic  trade.  A  squadron  of  seven 
vessels,  commanded  by  Sir  Hyde  Parker,  was  encountered  on  the 
Dogger  Bank  by  a  squadron  of  Dutch  ships  of  the  same  force  under 
Admiral  Zoutman.  An  action  of  four  hours  was  maintained  with 
all  the  ancient  courage  which  made  so  many  of  the  memorable  sea- 
fights  between  Tromp,  DeRuyter,  Blake,  and  Monk  drawn  battles. 
A  storm  separated  the  combatants  and  saved  the  honor  of  each,  for 
both  had  suffered  alike,  and  victory  had  belonged  to  neither.  The 
peace  of  1784  terminated  this  short,  but,  to  Holland,  fatal  war,  the 
two  latter  years  of  which  had  been,  in  the  petty  warfare  of  privateer- 
ing, most  disastrous  to  the  commerce  of  the  republic  Negapatam, 
on  the  coast  of  Coromandel,  and  the  free  navigation  of  the  Indian 
seas  were  ceded  to  England,  who  occupied  the  other  various  colo- 
nies taken  during  the  war. 

Opinion  was  now  rapidly  opening  out  to  that  spirit  of  intense 
inquiry  which  arose  in  France,  and  threatened  to  sweep  before  it 
not  only  all  that  was  corrupt,  but  everything  that  tended  to  corrup- 
tion. It  was  in  the  very  essence  of  all  kinds  of  power  to  have  that 
tendency,  and,  if  not  checked  by  salutary  means,  to  reach  that  end. 
But  the  reformers  of  the  last  century,  new  in  the  desperate  practice 
of  revolutions,  seeing  its  necessity,  but  ignorant  of  its  nature, 
could  place  no  bounds  on  the  whirlwind  that  they  raised.  The 
well-meaning  but  intemperate  changes  essayed  by  Joseph  II. 
in  Belgium  had  a  considerable  share  in  the  development  of  free 
principles,  although  they  at  first  seemed  only  to  excite  the  re- 
sistance of  bigotry  and  strengthen  the  growth  of  superstition. 
Holland  was  always  alive  to  those  feelings  of  resistance  to  estab- 
lished authority  which  characterized  republican  opinions,  and  the 
general  discontent  at  the  conduct  of  the  war  with  England  and  the 


DECLINE     OF    REPUBLIC  269 

1785-1790 

unpatriotic  attitude  of  the  Orange  party  strengthened  the  general 
demand  for  change  and  reform.  The  stadtholder  saw  clearly  the 
storm  which  was  gathering  and  which  menaced  his  power.  Anxious 
for  the  present  and  uncertain  for  the  future,  he  listened  to  the  sug- 
gestions of  England  and  resolved  to  secure  and  extend  by  foreign 
force  the  rights  of  which  he  risked  the  loss  from  domestic  faction. 

In  the  divisions  which  were  now  loudly  proclaimed  among  the 
states  in  favor  of  or  opposed  to  the  house  of  Orange,  the  people, 
despising  all  new  theories  which  they  did  not  comprehend,  took 
open  part  with  the  family  so  closely  connected  with  every  practical 
feeling  of  good  which  their  country  had  yet  known.  The  states  of 
Holland  soon  proceeded  to  measures  of  violence.  Resolved  to 
limit  the  power  of  the  stadtholder,  they  deprived  him  of  the  com- 
mand of  the  garrison  of  The  Hague,  and  of  all  the  other  troops 
of  the  province,  and  shortly  afterward  declared  him  removed  from 
all  his  employments.  The  violent  disputes  and  vehement  discus- 
sions consequent  upon  this  measure,  throughout  the  republic,  an- 
nounced an  inevitable  commotion.  The  advance  of  a  Prussian 
army  toward  the  frontiers  inflamed  the  passions  of  one  party  and 
strengthened  the  confidence  of  the  other.  An  incident  which  now 
happened  brought  about  the  crisis  even  sooner  than  was  expected. 
The  Princess  of  Orange  left  her  palace  at  Loo  to  repair  to  The 
Hague,  and,  traveling  with  great  simplicity  and  slightly  attended, 
she  was  arrested  and  detained  by  a  military  post  on  the  frontiers 
of  the  province  of  Holland.  The  neighboring  magistrates  of  the 
town  of  Woerden  refused  her  permission  to  continue  her  journey, 
and  forced  her  to  return  to  Loo  under  such  surveillance  as  was 
usual  with  a  prisoner  of  state.  The  stadtholder  and  the  English 
ambassador  loudly  complained  of  this  outrage.  The  complaint 
was  answered  by  the  immediate  advance  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick 
with  20,000  Prussian  soldiers.  Some  demonstrations  of  resistance 
were  made  by  the  astonished  party  whose  conduct  had  provoked  the 
measure,  but  in  three  weeks'  time  the  whole  of  the  republic  was 
in  perfect  obedience  to  the  authority  of  the  stadtholder,  who  re- 
sumed all  his  functions  as  chief  magistrate,  with  the  additional 
influence  which  was  sure  to  result  from  a  vain  attempt  to  reduce 
his  former  power. 

By  this  time  the  discontent  and  agitation  in  Belgium  had  at- 
tained a  most  formidable  .height.  The  attempted  reorganization  in 
religion  and  reform  of  judicial  abuses  persisted  in  by  the  emperor 


260  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1785-1790 

were  violently  opposed  by  the  Belgians,  who,  conservative  and  de- 
voted to  their  church,  feared  an  overthrow  of  the  old  regime  to 
which  they  were  so  strongly  attached.  Remonstrances  and  strong 
complaints  were  soon  succeeded  by  tumultuous  assemblages  and  open 
insurrection.  A  lawyer  of  Brussels  named  Van  der  Noot  put  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  malcontents.  The  states-general  of  Brabant 
declared  the  new  measures  of  the  emperor  to  be  in  opposition  to  the 
constitution  and  privileges  of  the  country.  The  other  Belgian 
provinces  soon  followed  this  example.  The  Prince  Albert  of  Saxe- 
Teschen  and  the  Archduchess  Maria  Theresa,  his  wife,  were  at  this 
period  joint  governors-general  of  the  Austrian  Netherlands.  At 
the  burst  of  rebellion  they  attempted  to  temporize,  but  this  only 
strengthened  the  revolutionary  party,  while  the  emperor  wholly 
disapproved  their  measures  and  recalled  them  to  Vienna. 

Count  Murray  was  now  named  governor-general,  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  future  fate  of  the  provinces  was  to  depend  on  the 
issues  of  civil  war.  Count  Trautmansdorff,  the  imperial  minister 
at  Brussels,  and  Count  d'Alten,  who  commanded  the  Austrian 
troops,  took  a  high  tone  and  evinced  a  peremptory  resolution.  The 
soldiery  and  the  citizens  soon  came  into  contact  on  many  points, 
and  blood  was  spilled  at  Brussels,  Mechlin,  and  Antwerp. 

The  provincial  states  were  convoked  for  the  purpose  of  voting 
the  usual  subsidies.  Brabant,  after  some  opposition,  consented, 
but  the  states  of  Hainault  unanimously  refused  the  vote.  The 
emperor  saw,  or  supposed,  that  the  necessity  for  decisive  measures 
was  now  inevitable.  The  refractory  states  were  dissolved,  and 
arrests  and  imprisonments  were  multiplied  in  all  quarters.  Van 
der  Noot,  who  had  escaped  to  England,  soon  returned  to  the  Neth- 
erlands and  established  a  committee  at  Breda,  which  conferred  on 
him  the  imposing  title  of  agent-plenipotentiary  of  the  people  of 
Brabant.  He  hoped,  under  this  authority,  to  interest  the  English, 
Prussian,  and  Dutch  governments  in  favor  of  his  views,  but  his 
proposals  were  coldly  received.  Protestant  states  had  little  sym- 
pathy for  a  people  whose  resistance  was  excited,  not  by  tyrannical 
efforts  against  freedom,  but  by  broad  measures  of  civil  and  religious 
reorganization,  the  only  fault  of  which  was  their  attempted  applica- 
tion to  minds  wholly  incompetent  to  comprehend  their  value. 

Left  to  themselves,  the  Belgians  soon  gave  a  display  of  that 
energetic  valor  which  is  natural  to  them,  and  which  would  be  en- 
titled to  still  greater  admiration  had  it  been  evinced  in  a  worthier 


DECLINE     OF     REPUBLIC  «61 

1785-1790 

cause.  During  the  fermentation  which  led  to  a  general  rising  in 
the  provinces  on  the  impulse  of  fanatic  zeal,  the  truly  enlightened 
portion  of  the  people  conceived  the  project  of  raising,  on  the  ruins 
of  monastic  influence  and  aristocratical  power,  an  edifice  of 
constitutional  freedom.  Vonck,  also  an  advocate  of  Brussels,  took 
the  lead  in  this  splendid  design,  and  he  and  his  friends  proved  them- 
selves to  have  reached  the  level  of  that  true  enlightenment  which 
distinguished  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  But  the  Vonck- 
ists,  as  they  were  called,  formed  but  a  small  minority  compared 
with  the  mass,  and,  overwhelmed  by  fanaticism  on  the  one  hand  and 
despotism  on  the  other,  they  were  unable  to  act  effectually  for  the 
public  good.  Francis  Van  der  Mersch,  a  soldier  of  fortune  and  a 
man  of  considerable  talents,  who  had  raised  himself  from  the  ranks 
to  the  command  of  a  regiment,  and  had  been  formed  in  the  school 
of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
patriot  forces.  Joseph  II.  was  declared  to  have  forfeited  his  sov- 
ereignty in  Brabant,  and  hostilities  soon  commenced  by  a  regular 
advance  of  the  insurgent  army  upon  that  province.  Van  der 
Mersch  displayed  consummate  ability  in  this  crisis,  where  so  much 
depended  upon  the  prudence  of  the  military  chief.  He  made  no 
rash  attempt,  to  which  commanders  are  sometimes  induced  by  reli- 
ance upon  the  enthusiasm  of  a  newly  revolted  people.  He,  however, 
took  the  earliest  safe  opportunity  of  coming  to  blows  with  the 
enemy,  and,  having  cleverly  induced  the  Austrians  to  follow  him 
into  the  very  streets  of  the  town  of  Turnhout,  he  there  entered  on 
a  bloody  contest,  and  finally  defeated  the  imperialists  with  cpnsid- 
erable  loss.  He  next  maneuvered  with  great  ability,  and  succeeded 
in  making  his  way  into  the  province  of  Flanders,  took  Ghent  by 
assault,  and  soon  reduced  Bruges,  Ypres,  and  Ostend.  At  the  news 
of  these  successes  the  governors-general  quitted  Brussels  in  all 
haste.  The  states  of  Flanders  assembled,  in  junction  with  those 
of  Brabant.  Both  provinces  were  freed  from  the  presence  of  the 
Austrian  troops.  Van  der  Noot  and  the  committee  of  Breda  made 
an  entrance  into  Brussels  with  all  the  pomp  of  royalty,  and  in  the 
early  part  of  the  following  year  (1790)  a  treaty  of  union  was 
signed  by  the  seven  revolted  provinces,  now  formed  into  a  con- 
federation under  the  name  of  the  United  Belgian  States. 

All  the  hopes  arising  from  these  brilliant  events  were  soon, 
however,  to  be  blighted  by  the  scorching  heats  of  faction.  Joseph 
II.,  whose  temperament  appears  to  have  been  too  sensitive  to  sup- 


262  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1790-1791 

port  the  shock  of  disappointment  in  plans  which  sprung  from  the 
purest  motives,  saw,  in  addition  to  this  successful  insurrection 
against  his  power,  his  beloved  sister,  the  Queen  of  France,  menaced 
with  the  horrors  of  an  inevitable  revolution.  His  over-sanguine 
expectations  of  successfully  rivaling  the  glory  of  Frederick  and 
Catherine,  and  the  ill  success  of  his  war  against  the  Turks,  all 
tended  to  break  down  his  enthusiastic  spirit,  which  only  wanted 
the  elastic  resistance  of  fortitude  to  have  made  him  a  great  character. 
He  sank  for  some  time  into  a  profund  melancholy,  and  expired 
on  January  20,  1791,  accusing  his  Belgian  subjects  of  having  caused 
his  premature  death. 

Leopold,  the  successor  of  his  brother,  displayed  much  sagacity 
and  moderation  in  the  measures  which  he  adopted  for  the  recovery 
of  the  revolted  provinces,  but  their  internal  disunion  was  the  best 
ally  of  the  new  emperor.  The  violent  party  which  now  ruled  at 
Brussels  had  ungratefully  forgotten  the  eminent  services  of  Van 
der  Mersch,  and  accused  him  of  treachery,  merely  from  his  attach- 
ment to  the  noble  views  and  principles  of  the  widely  increasing  party 
of  the  Vonckists.  Induced  by  the  hope  of  reconciling  the  opposing 
parties,  he  left  his  army  in  Namur,  and  imprudently  ventured  into 
the  power  of  General  Schoenfeld,  who  commanded  the  troops  of 
the  states.  Van  der  Mersch  was  instantly  arrested  and  thrown  into 
prison,  where  he  lingered  for  months,  until  set  free  by  the  overthrow 
of  the  faction  he  had  raised  to  power.  But  he  did  not  recover  his 
liberty  to  witness  the  realization  of  his  hopes  for  that  of  his  country. 
The  states-general,  in  their  triumph  over  all  that  was  truly  patriotic, 
occupied  themselves  in  restoring  the  old  conditions  and  suppressing 
the  liberal  party.  The  overtures  of  the  new  emperor  were  rejected 
with  scorn,  and,  as  might  be  expected  from  this  combination  of 
bigotry  and  rashness,  the  imperial  troops  under  General  Bender 
marched  quietly  to  the  conquest  of  the  whole  country,  town  after 
town  opening  their  gates,  while  Van  der  Noot  and  his  partisans 
betook  themselves  to  rapid  and  disgraceful  flight.  On  December 
10,  1 79 1,  the  ministers  of  the  emperor  concluded  a  convention  with 
those  of  England,  Russia,  and  Holland  (which  powers  guaranteed 
its  execution),  by  which  Leopold  granted  an  amnesty  for  all  past 
offenses,  and  confirmed  to  all  his  recovered  provinces  their  ancient 
constitution  and  privileges.  Thus  returning  under  the  domination 
of  Austria,  Belgium  saw  its  best  chance  for  successfully  following 
the  noble  example  of  the  United  Provinces  paralyzed  by  the  short- 


DECLINE    OF    REPUBLIC 

1792-1793 

sighted  bigotry  which  deprived  the  national  courage  of  all  moral 
force. 

Leopold  enjoyed  but  a  short  time  the  fruits  of  his  well-meas- 
ured indulgences.  He  died  suddenly,  March  i,  1792,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  Francis  IL,  whose  fate  it  was  to  see  those  prov- 
inces of  Belgium  which  had  cost  his  ancestors  so  many  struggles 
to  maintain  wrested  forever  from  the  imperial  power.  Belgium 
presented  at  this  period  an  aspect  of  paramount  interest  to  the 
world,  less  owing  to  its  intrinsic  importance  than  to  its  becoming 
at  once  the  point  of  contest  between  the  contending  powers  and 
the  theater  of  the  terrible  struggle  between  republican  France  and 
the  monarchs  she  braved  and  battled  with.  The  whole  combina- 
tions of  European  policy  were  staked  on  the  question  of  the  French 
possession  of  this  country. 

This  war  between  France  and  Austria  began  its  earliest  opera- 
tions on  the  very  first  days  after  the  accession  of  Francis  II.  The 
victory  of  Jemappes,  gained  by  Dumouriez,  was  the  first  great 
event  of  the  campaign.  The  Austrians  were  on  all  sides  driven 
out.  Dumouriez  made  his  triumphal  entry  into  Brussels  on  No- 
vember 13,  and  immediately  after  the  occupation  of  this  town  the 
whole  of  Flanders,  Brabant,  and  Hainault,  with  the  other  Belgian 
provinces,  were  subjected  to  France.  Soon  afterward  several  pre- 
tended deputies  from  the  Belgian  people  hastened  to  Paris  and 
implored  the  convention  to  grant  them  a  share  of  that  liberty  and 
equality  which  was  to  confer  such  inestimable  blessings  on  France. 
Various  decrees  were  issued  in  consequence,  and  after  the  mockery 
of  a  public  choice,  hurried  on  in  several  of  the  towns  by  hired 
Jacobins  and  well-paid  patriots,  the  incorporation  of  the  Austrian 
Netherlands  with  the  French  republic  was  formally  pronounced. 

The  next  campaign  destroyed  this  whole  fabric  of  revolution. 
Dumouriez,  beaten  at  Neerwinden  by  Prince  Frederick  of  Saxe- 
Coburg,  abandoned  not  only  his  last  year's  conquest,  but  fled  from 
his  own  army  to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  a  foreign  soil 
and  leave  his  reputation  a  doubtful  legacy  to  history.  Belgium, 
once  again  in  the  possession  of  Austria,  was  placed  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Archduke  Charles,  the  emperor's  brother,  who  was 
destined  to  a  very  brief  continuance  in  this  precarious  authority. 

During  this  and  the  succeeding  year  the  war  was  continued 
with  unbroken  perseverance  and  a  constant  fluctuation  in  its  results. 
In  the  various  battles  which  were  fought,  and  the  sieges  which  took 


264  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1792-1797 

place,  the  English  army  was,  as  usual,  in  the  foremost  ranks,  under 
the  Duke  of  York,  second  son  of  George  IIL  The  Prince  of 
Orange,  at  the  head  of  the  Dutch  troops,  proved  his  inheritance 
of  the  valor  which  seems  inseparable  from  the  name  of  Nassau. 
The  Archduke  Charles  laid  the  foundation  of  his  subsequent  high 
reputation.  The  Emperor  Francis  himself  fought  valiantly  at  the 
head  of  his  troops.  But  all  the  coalesced  courage  of  these  princes 
and  their  armies  could  not  effectually  stop  the  progress  of  the 
republican  arms.  The  battle  of  Fleurus  rendered  the  French  com- 
pletely masters  of  Belgium,  and  the  representatives  of  the  city  of 
Brussels  once  more  repaired  to  the  national  convention  of  France 
to  solicit  the  reincorporation  of  the  two  countries.  This  was  not, 
however,  finally  pronounced  till  October  i,  1795,  by  which  time 
the  violence  of  an  arbitrary  government  had  given  the  people  a 
sample  of  what  they  were  to  expect.  The  Austrian  Netherlands 
and  the  province  of  Liege  were  divided  into  nine  departments, 
forming  an  integral  part  of  the  French  republic,  and  this  new  state 
of  things  was  consolidated  by  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  signed 
at  Leoben  in  Styria,  between  the  French  general,  Bonaparte,  and 
the  Archduke  Charles,  and  confirmed  by  the  Treaty  of  Campo 
Formio  on  October  17,  1797. 


Chapter    XXII 

THE  FRENCH  INVASION.     1794-1813 

WHILE  the  fate  of  Belgium  was  decided  on  the  plains 
of  Fleurus,  Pichegru  prepared  to  carry  the  triumphant 
arms  of  France  into  the  heart  of  Holland.  He  crossed 
the  Meuse  at  the  head  of  100,000  men,  and  soon  gained  possession 
of  most  of  the  chief  places  of  Flanders.  An  unusually  severe  win- 
ter was  setting  in,  but  a  circumstance  which  in  common  cases  re- 
tards the  operations  of  war  was  in  the  present  instance  the  means 
of  hurrying  on  the  conquest  on  which  the  French  general  was 
bent.  The  arms  of  the  sea,  which  had  hitherto  been  the  best  de- 
fenses of  Holland,  now  became  solid  masses  of  ice,  battlefields  on 
which  the  soldiers  maneuvered  and  the  artillery  thundered,  as  if 
the  laws  of  the  elements  were  repealed  to  hasten  the  fall  of  the  once 
proud  and  long  flourishing  republic.  Nothing  could  arrest  the 
ambitious  ardor  of  the  invaders.  The  English  army  in  Holland, 
commanded  by  the  Duke  of  York,  made  but  a  feeble  resistance; 
and  borne  down  by  numbers,  was  driven  from  position  to  posi- 
tion. Batteries,  cannon,  and  magazines  were  successively  taken, 
and  Pichegru  was  soon  at  the  term  of  his  brilliant  exploits. 

But  Holland  speedily  ceased  to  be  a  scene  of  warfare.  The 
discontented  portion  of  the  citizens,  now  the  majority,  rejoiced  to 
retaliate  the  revolution  of  1787  by  another,  received  the  French  as 
liberators.  Reduced  to  extremity,  yet  still  capable  by  the  aid  of  his 
allies  of  making  a  long  and  desperate  resistance,  the  stadtholder 
took  the  nobler  resolution  of  saving  his  fellow-citizens  from  the 
horrors  of  prolonged  warfare.  He  repaired  to  The  Hague,  pre- 
sented himself  in  the  assembly  of  the  states-general,  and  solemnly 
deposed  in  their  hands  the  exercise  of  the  supreme  power,  which 
he  found  he  could  no  longer  wield  but  to  entail  misery  and  ruin 
on  his  conquered  country.  After  this  splendid  instance  of  true 
patriotism  and  rare  virtue,  he  quitted  Holland  and  took  refuge  in 
England.  The  states-general  dissolved  a  national  assembly  in- 
stalled at  The  Hague,  and,  the  stadtholderate  abolished,  the  United 

265 


266  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1795-1797 

Provinces  now  changed  their  form  of  government,  their  long- 
cherished  institutions,  and  their  very  name,  and  were  christened  the 
Batavian  repubHc. 

Assurances  of  the  most  flattering  nature  were  profusely  show- 
ered on  the  new  state  by  the  sister  republic  which  had  effected  this 
new  revolution.  But  the  first  measure  of  regeneration  was  the 
necessity  of  paying  for  the  recovered  independence,  which  was 
effected  for  the  sum  of  100,000,000  florins.  The  new  constitution 
was  almost  entirely  modeled  on  that  of  France,  and  the  promised 
independence  soon  became  a  state  of  deplorable  suffering  and  vir- 
tual slavery.  Incalculable  evils  were  the  portion  of  Holland  in 
the  part  which  she  was  forced  to  take  in  the  war  between  France 
and  England.  Her  marine  was  nearly  annihilated,  and  some  of 
her  most  valuable  possessions  in  the  Indies  ravished  from  her  by 
the  British  arms.  Cape  Colony,  held  by  the  Dutch  since  1652, 
was  seized  by  the  English  in  1795  in  behalf  of  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
and  during  the  progress  of  the  war  Java,  the  Celebes  and  most  of 
the  other  Dutch  colonies  in  the  East  passed  into  British  hands. 
Holland  was  at  the  same  time  obliged  to  cede  to  her  ally  the  whole 
of  Dutch  Flanders,  Maastricht,  Venloo,  and  their  dependencies, 
and  to  render  free  and  common  to  both  nations  the  navigation  of 
the  Rhine,  the  Meuse,  and  the  Scheldt. 

The  internal  situation  of  the  unfortunate  republic  was  de- 
plorable. Under  the  weight  of  an  enormous  and  daily  increasing 
debt,  all  the  resources  of  trade  and  industry  were  paralyzed.  Uni- 
versal misery  took  the  place  of  opulence,  and  not  even  the  consola- 
tion of  a  free  constitution  remained  to  the  people.  They  vainly 
sought  that  blessing  from  each  new  government  of  the  country 
whose  destinies  they  followed,  but  whose  advantages  they  did  not 
share.  They  saw  themselves  successively  governed  by  the  states- 
general,  a  national  assembly,  and  the  directory.  But  these  ephemeral 
authorities  had  not  sufficient  weight  to  give  the  nation  domestic 
happiness,  nor  consideration  among  the  other  powers. 

On  October  11,  1797,  the  English  admiral,  Sir  Adam  Duncan, 
with  a  superior  force,  encountered  the  Dutch  fleet  under  De  Winter 
off  Camperdown,  and  in  spite  of  the  bravery  of  the  latter  he  was 
taken  prisoner,  with  nine  ships  of  the  line  and  a  frigate.  An  expe- 
dition on  an  extensive  scale  was  soon  after  fitted  out  in  England 
to  cooperate  with  a  Russian  force  for  the  establishment  of  the 
house  of  Orange.     The  Helder  was  the  destination  of  this  arma- 


> 
4 


FRENCH    INVASION  «67 

1797-1806 

ment,  which  was  commanded  by  Sir  Ralph  Abercrombie.  The 
Duke  of  York  soon  arrived  in  the  Texel  with  a  considerable  rein- 
forcement. A  series  of  severe  and  well-contested  actions  near 
Bergen  ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  allies  and  the  abandonment  of 
the  enterprise,  the  only  success  of  which  was  the  capture  of  the 
remains  of  the  Dutch  fleet,  which  was  safely  conveyed  to  England. 

From  this  period  the  weight  of  French  oppression  became  every 
day  more  intolerable  in  Holland.  Ministers,  generals,  and  every 
other  species  of  functionary,  with  swarms  of  minor  tyrants,  while 
treating  the  country  as  a  conquered  province,  deprived  it  of  all 
share  in  the  brilliant  though  checkered  glories  gained  by  that  to 
which  it  was  subservient.  The  Dutch  were  robbed  of  national  in- 
dependence and  personal  freedom.  While  the  words  "  liberty " 
and  "  equality  "  were  everywhere  emblazoned,  the  French  ambas- 
sador assumed  an  almost  Oriental  despotism.  The  language  and 
forms  of  a  free  government  were  used  only  to  sanction  a  foreign 
tyranny,  and  the  Batavian  republic,  reduced  to  the  most  hopeless 
and  degraded  state,  was  in  fact  but  a  forced  appendage  chained  to 
the  triumphal  car  of  France. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  creating  by  the  force  of  his  prodigious 
talents  the  circumstances  of  which  inferior  minds  are  but  the 
creatures,  now  rapidly  rose  to  the  topmost  height  of  power.  Soon 
after  his  creation  as  First  Consul  he  had  made  a  tour  of  the  Bel- 
gian provinces,  whose  importance  he  fully  appreciated.  The  results 
of  his  visit  seemed  at  first  to  promise  a  return  of  prosperity — over 
fifty  millions  of  francs  were  spent  on  Antwerp  alone.  But  the 
continuation  of  the  war,  interrupted  for  barely  a  year  by  the  Peace 
of  Amiens  in  1802,  and  the  disastrous  results  of  the  continental 
blockade  which  kept  all  the  ports  of  the  Netherlands  closed,  ren- 
dered any  real  prosperity  impossible.  The  new  Batavian  republic 
was  not  destined  to  have  a  long  existence.  After  the  victory  of 
Austerlitz  Napoleon  determined  to  create  another  kingdom  for  his 
family  in  Holland.  Louis  Bonaparte,  in  spite  of  his  objections,  was 
obliged  by  his  brother  to  accept  the  crown,  and  ascended  the  throne 
of  Holland  in  1806. 

The  character  of  Louis  Bonaparte  was  gentle  and  amiable,  his 
manners  easy  and  affable.  He  entered  on  his  new  rank  with  the 
best  intentions  toward  the  country  over  which  he  was  sent  to  reign, 
and  though  he  felt  acutely  when  the  people  refused  him  marks  of 
respect  and  applause,  which  was  frequently  the  case,  his  temper 


268  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1806-1810 

was  not  soured  and  he  conceived  no  resentment.  He  endeavored 
to  merit  popularity,  and  though  his  power  was  scanty,  his  efforts 
were  not  wholly  unsuccessful.  He  labored  to  revive  the  ruined 
trade,  which  he  knew  to  be  the  staple  of  Dutch  prosperity.  But  the 
measures  springing  from  this  praiseworthy  motive  were  totally 
opposed  to  the  policy  of  Napoleon,  and  in  proportion  as  Louis  made 
friends  and  partisans  among  his  subjects  he  excited  bitter  enmity 
in  his  imperial  brother.  Louis  was  so  averse  to  the  Continental 
system,  or  exclusion  of  British  manufactures,  that  during  his  short 
reign  every  facility  was  given  to  his  subjects  to  elude  it,  even  in 
defiance  of  the  orders  conveyed  to  him  from  Paris  through  the 
medium  of  the  French  ambassador  at  The  Hague.  He  imposed 
no  restraints  on  public  opinion,  nor  would  he  establish  the  odious 
system  of  espionage  cherished  by  the  French  police.  But  he  was 
fickle  in  his  purposes  and  prodigal  in  his  expenses.  The  profuse- 
ness  of  his  expenditure  was  very  offensive  to  the  Dutch  notions  of 
respectability  in  matters  of  private  finance  and  injurious  to  the 
existing  state  of  the  public  means.  The  tyranny  of  Napoleon  be- 
came soon  quite  insupportable  to  him,  so  much  so  that  it  is  believed 
that  had  the  ill-fated  English  expedition  to  Walcheren  in  1809  suc- 
ceeded, and  the  army  advanced  into  the  country^,  he  would  have 
declared  war  against  France.  After  an  ineffectual  struggle  of 
more  than  three  years  he  chose  rather  to  abdicate  his  throne  than 
retain  it  under  the  degrading  conditions  of  proconsulate  subservi- 
ency. This  measure  excited  considerable  regret,  and  much  esteem 
for  the  man  who  preferred  the  retirement  of  private  life  to  the 
meanness  of  regal  slavery.  But  Louis  left  a  galling  memento  of 
misplaced  magnificence,  in  an  increase  of  ninety  millions  of  florins 
(equivalent  to  about  thirty-six  millions  of  dollars)  to  the  already 
oppressive  amount  of  the  national  debt  of  the  country. 

The  annexation  of  Holland  to  the  French  empire  was  imme- 
ditely  pronounced  by  Napoleon.  Two-thirds  of  the  national  debt 
were  abolished,  the  conscription  law  was  introduced,  and  the  Berlin 
and  Milan  decrees  against  the  introduction  of  British  manufactures 
were  rigidly  enforced.  The  nature  of  the  evils  inflicted  on  the 
Dutch  people  by  this  annexation  and  its  consequences  demands  a 
somewhat  minute  examination.  The  kingdom  of  Holland  con- 
sisted of  the  departments  of  the  Zuyder  Zee,  the  mouths  of  the 
Meuse,  the  Upper  Yssel,  the  mouths  of  the  Yssel,  Friesland,  and 
the  Western  and  Eastern  Ems;   and  the  population  of  the  whole 


FRENCH     INVASION  269 

1810-1813 

did  not  exceed  1,800,000  souls.  When  Louis  abdicated  his  throne 
he  left  a  military  and  naval  force  of  18,000  men,  who  were  imme- 
diately taken  into  the  service  of  France,  and  in  three  years  and  a 
half  after  that  event  this  number  was  increased  to  50,000,  by  the 
operation  of  the  French  naval  and  military  code.  Thus  about  a 
thirty-sixth  part  of  the  whole  population  was  employed  in  arms. 
The  forces  included  in  the  maritime  conscription  were  wholly  em- 
ployed in  the  navy.  The  national  guards  were  on  constant  duty 
in  the  garrisons  or  naval  establishments.  The  cohorts  were  by 
law  only  liable  to  serve  in  the  interior  of  the  French  empire — 
that  is  to  say,  from  Hamburg  to  Rome.  But  after  the  Russian 
campaign  this  limitation  was  disregarded,  and  they  formed  a  part 
of  Napoleon's  army  at  the  battle  of  Bautzen. 

The  conscription  laws  now  began  to  be  executed  with  the 
greatest  rigor,  and  though  the  strictest  justice  and  impartiality  were 
observed  in  the  ballot  and  other  details  of  this  most  oppressive  meas- 
ure, yet  it  has  been  calculated  that  on  an  average  nearly  one-half 
of  the  male  population  of  the  age  of  twenty  years  was  annually 
taken  off.  The  conscripts  were  told  that  their  service  was  not 
to  extend  beyond  the  term  of  five  years,  but  as  few  instances  oc- 
curred of  a  French  soldier  being  discharged  without  his  being 
declared  unfit  for  service,  it  was  always  considered  in  Holland  that 
the  service  of  a  conscript  was  tantamount  to  an  obligation  during 
life.  Besides,  the  regulations  respecting  the  conscription  were 
annually  changed,  by  which  means  the  code  became  each  year  more 
intricate  and  confused,  and  as  the  explanation  of  any  doubt  rested 
with  the  functionaries  to  whom  the  execution  of  the  law  was  con- 
fided, there  was  little  chance  of  their  constructions  mitigating  its 
severity. 

The  various  taxes  were  laid  on  and  levied  in  the  most  oppres- 
sive manner,  those  on  land  usually  amounting  to  twenty-five,  and 
those  on  houses  to  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  clear  annual  rent.  Other 
direct  taxes  were  levied  on  persons  and  movable  property,  and 
all  were  regulated  on  a  scale  of  almost  intolerable  severity.  The 
whole  sum  annually  obtained  from  Holland  by  these  means 
amounted  to  about  thirty  million  of  florins,  or  about  fifteen  million 
dollars. 

The  operation  of  what  was  called  the  Continental  system 
created  an  excess  of  misery  in  Holland  only  to  be  understood  by 
those  who  witnessed  its  lamentable  results.     In  other  countries. 


270  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1810-1813 

Belgium,  for  instance,  where  great  manufactories  existed,  the  loss 
of  maritime  communication  was  compensated  by  the  exclusion  of 
English  goods.  In  states  possessed  of  large  and  fertile  territories, 
the  population  which  could  no  longer  be  employed  in  commerce 
might  be  occupied  in  agricultural  pursuits.  But  in  Holland,  whose 
manufactures  were  inconsiderable,  and  whose  territory  is  insuffi- 
cient to  support  its  inhabitants,  the  destruction  of  trade  threw  in- 
numerable individuals  wholly  out  of  employment  and  produced  a 
graduated  scale  of  poverty  in  all  ranks.  A  considerable  part  of 
the  population  had  been  employed  in  various  branches  of  the  traffic' 
carried  on  by  means  of  the  many  canals  which  conveyed  merchan- 
dise from  the  seaports  into  the  interior  and  to  the  different  Con- 
tinental markets.  When  the  communication  with  England  was 
cut  off  principals  and  subordinates  were  involved  in  a  common  ruin. 

In  France  the  effect  of  the  Continental  system  was  somewhat 
alleviated  by  the  license  trade,  the  exportation  of  various  produc- 
tions forced  on  the  rest  of  Continental  Europe,  and  the  encourage- 
ment given  to  home  manufactures.  But  all  this  was  reversed  in 
Holland.  The  few  licenses  granted  to  the  Dutch  were  clogged  with 
duties  so  exorbitant  as  to  make  them  useless,  the  duties  on  one 
ship  which  entered  the  Meuse,  loaded  with  sugar  and  coffee,  amount- 
ing to  about  $250,000.  At  the  same  time  every  means  was  used 
to  crush  the  remnant  of  Dutch  commerce  and  sacrifice  the  country 
to  France.  The  Dutch  troops  were  clothed  and  armed  from  French 
factories,  the  frontiers  were  opened  to  the  introduction  of  French 
commodities  duty  free,  and  the  Dutch  manufacturer  was  undersold 
in  his  own  market. 

The  population  of  Amsterdam  was  reduced  from  220,000  souls 
to  190,000,  of  which  a  fourth  part  derived  their  whole  subsistence 
from  charitable  institutions,  while  another  fourth  part  received 
partial  succor  from  the  same  sources.  At  Haarlem,  where  the 
population  had  been  chiefly  employed  in  bleaching  and  preparing 
linen  made  in  Brabant,  whole  streets  were  leveled  with  the  ground 
and  more  than  five  hundred  houses  destroyed.  At  The  Hague,  at 
Delft,  and  in  other  towns  many  inhabitants  had  been  induced  to 
pull  down  their  houses  from  inability  to  keep  them  in  repair  or 
pay  the  taxes.  The  preservation  of  the  dikes,  requiring  an  annual 
expense  of  $3,000,000,  was  everywhere  neglected.  The  sea  inun- 
dated the  country  and  threatened  to  resume  its  ancient  dominion. 
No  object  of  ambition,  no  source  of  professional  wealth  or  distinc- 


FRENCH    INVASION  «71 

1810-1813 

tion,  remained  to  which  a  Hollander  could  aspire.  None  could 
voluntarily  enter  the  army  or  navy  to  fight  for  the  worst  enemy  of 
Holland.  The  clergy  were  not  provided  with  a  decent  competency. 
The  ancient  laws  of  the  country,  so  dear  to  its  pride  and  its  preju- 
dices, were  replaced  by  the  Code  Napoleon,  so  that  old  practitioners 
had  to  recommence  their  studies,  and  young  men  were  disgusted 
with  the  drudgery  of  learning  a  system  which  was  universally  pro- 
nounced unfit  for  a  commercial  country. 

Independent  of  this  mass  of  positive  ill,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  in  Holland  trade  was  not  merely  a  means  of  gaining 
wealth,  but  a  passion  long  and  deeply  grafted  on  the  national  mind 
— so  that  the  Dutch  felt  every  aggravation  of  calamity,  considering 
themselves  degraded  and  sacrificed  by  a  power  which  had  robbed 
them  of  all  which  attaches  a  people  to  their  native  land,  and,  for  an 
accumulated  list  of  evils,  only  offered  them  the  empty  glory  of 
appertaining  to  the  country  which,  with  the  sole  exception  of 
England,  gave  the  law  to  all  the  nations  of  Europe. 

Those  who  have  considered  the  events  noted  in  this  history 
for  the  last  two  hundred  years,  and  followed  the  fluctuations  of 
public  opinion  depending  on  prosperity  or  misfortune,  will  have 
anticipated  that  in  the  present  calamitous  state  of  the  country  all 
eyes  were  turned  toward  the  family  whose  memory  was  revived  by 
every  pang  of  slavery  and  associated  with  every  throb  for  freedom. 
The  presence  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  William  IV.,  who  had  on 
the  death  of  his  father  succeeded  to  the  title,  though  he  had  lost 
the  revenues  of  his  ancient  house  and  the  reestablishment  of  the 
connection  with  England,  were  now  the  general  desire.  The  leaders 
of  the  various  parties  into  which  the  country  was  divided  became 
by  degrees  more  closely  united.  Approaches  toward  a  better  un- 
derstanding were  reciprocally  made,  and  they  ended  in  a  general 
anxiety  for  the  expulsion  of  the  French,  with  the  establishment  of 
a  free  constitution  and  a  cordial  desire  that  the  Prince  of  Orange 
should  be  at  its  head.  It  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  at  the  close 
of  the  year  1813  these  were  the  unanimous  wishes  of  the  Dutch 
nation. 

Napoleon,  lost  in  the  labyrinths  of  his  exorbitant  ambition, 
afforded  at  length  a  chance  of  redress  to  the  nations  he  had  en- 
slaved. Elevated  so  suddenly  and  so  high,  he  seemed  suspended 
between  two  influences,  and  unfit  for  either.  He  might  in  a  moral 
view  be  said  to  have  breathed  badly  in  a  station  which  was  beyond 


272  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1810-1813 

the  atmosphere  of  his  natural  world,  without  being-  out  of  its  at- 
traction; and  having  reached  the  pinnacle,  he  soon  lost  his  balance 
and  fell.  Driven  from  Russia  by  the  junction  of  human  with  ele- 
mental force  in  1812,  he  made  some  grand  efforts  in  the  following 
year  to  recover  from  his  irremediable  reverses.  The  battles  of 
Bautzen  and  Lutzen  were  the  expiring  efforts  of  his  greatness. 
That  of  Leipzig  put  a  fatal  negative  upon  the  hopes  that  sprang 
from  the  two  former,  and  the  obstinate  ambition  which  at  this 
epoch  made  him  refuse  the  most  liberal  offers  of  the  allies  was  justly 
punished  by  humiliation  and  defeat.  Almost  all  the  powers  of 
Europe  now  leagued  against  him,  and,  France  itself  being  worn 
out  by  his  wasteful  expenditure  of  men  and  money,  he  had  no 
longer  a  chance  in  resistance.  The  empire  was  attacked  at  all 
points.  The  Frendi  troops  in  Holland  were  drawn  off  to  reinforce 
the  armies  in  distant  directions,  and  the  whole  military  force  in 
that  country  scarcely  exceeded  10,000  men.  The  advance  of  the 
combined  armies  toward  the  frontiers  became  generally  known, 
and  parties  of  Cossacks  had  entered  the  north  of  Holland  in  Novem- 
ber and  were  scouring  the  country  beyond  the  Yssel.  The  moment 
for  action  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch  confederate  patriots  had  now 
arrived,  and  it  was  not  lost  or  neglected. 

A  people  inured  to  revolutions  for  upwards  of  two  centuries, 
filled  with  proud  recollections  and  urged  on  by  well-digested  hopes, 
were  the  most  likely  to  understand  the  best  period  and  the  surest 
means  for  success.  An  attempt  that  might  have  appeared  to  other 
nations  rash  was  proved  to  be  wise  both  by  the  reasonings  of 
its  authors  and  its  own  results.  The  intolerable  tyranny  of  France 
had  made  the  population  not  only  ripe,  but  eager,  for  revolt.  This 
disposition  was  acted  on  by  a  few  enterprising"  men,  at  once  par- 
tisans of  the  house  of  Orange  and  patriots  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
word.  The  leaders  of  the  movement  were  the  Counts  Van  Hogen- 
dorp  and  Stirum.  These  bold  men,  at  the  head  of  a  hasty  levy  of 
800  poorly  armed  men,  proclaimed  the  Prince  of  Orange  at  The 
Hague  November  17,  1813. 

While  a  few  gentlemen  thus  boldly  came  forward  at  their  own 
risk,  with  no  funds  but  their  private  fortunes,  and  aided  only  by 
an  unarmed  populace,  to  declare  war  against  the  French  emperor, 
they  did  not  even  know  the  residence  of  the  exiled  prince  in  whose 
cause  they  were  now  so  completely  compromised.  The  other  towns 
of  Holland  were  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  incertitude.     Rotterdam 


FRENCH     INVASION  273 

1813 

did  not  move,  and  the  French  troops  were  concentrated  at  Utrecht. 
In  Amsterdam,  however,  1500  of  the  national  guard  mounted  the 
yellow  cockade  with  cries  of  "  Orange  bouen,"  but  they  had  no 
leaders  and  the  town  corporation  moved  cautiously. 

The  subsequent  events  at  The  Hague  furnish  an  inspiring  les- 
son for  all  people  who  would  learn  that  to  be  free  they  must  be 
resolute  and  daring.  The  only  hope  of  the  confederates  was  from 
the  British  government  and  the  combined  armies  then  acting  in 
the  north  of  Europe.  But  many  days  were  to  be  lingered  through 
before  troops  could  be  embarked  and  make  their  way  from  Eng- 
land in  the  teeth  of  the  easterly  winds  then  prevailing,  while  a  few 
Cossacks,  hovering  on  the  confines  of  Holland,  gave  the  only  evi- 
dence of  the  proximity  of  the  allied  forces.  The  French,  however, 
thought  only  of  retreat.  The  prefect  at  The  Hague,  M.  de  Stassart. 
fled  at  the  first  alarm  and  the  small  French  garrison  soon  followed 
his  example. 

Unceasing  efforts  were  now  made  to  remedy  the  want  of  arms 
and  men.  A  quantity  of  pikes  were  rudely  made  and  distributed 
to  the  volunteers  who  crowded  in,  and  numerous  fishing  boats  were 
dispatched  in  different  directions  to  inform  the  British  cruisers  of 
the  passing  events.  An  individual  named  Pronck,  an  inhabitant 
of  Schaevening,  a  village  of  the  coast,  rendered  great  services  in 
this  way,  from  his  influence  among  the  sailors  and  fishermen  in 
the  neighborhood. 

The  confederates  spared  no  exertion  to  increase  the  confidence 
of  the  people  under  many  contradictory  and  disheartening  con- 
tingencies. An  officer  who  had  been  dispatched  for  advice  and  in- 
formation to  Baron  Bentinck,  at  Zwolle,  who  was  in  communica- 
tion with  the  allies,  returned  with  the  discouraging  news  that  Gen- 
eral Billow  had  orders  not  to  pass  the  Yssel,  the  allies  having  de- 
cided not  to  advance  into  Holland  beyond  the  line  of  that  river.  A 
meeting  of  the  ancient  regents  of  The  Hague  was  convoked  by 
the  proclamation  of  the  confederates,  and  took  place  at  the  house 
of  Count  Van  Hogendorp,  the  ancient  res-idence  of  the  De  Witts. 
The  wary  magistrates  absolutely  refused  all  cooperation  in  the 
daring  measures  of  the  confederates,  who  had  now  the  whole  re- 
sponsibility on  their  heads,  with  little  to  cheer  them  on  in  their 
perilous  career  but  thdr  own  resolute  hearts  and  the  recollection  of 
those  days  when  their  ancestors,  with  odds  as  fearfully  against 
them,  rose  up  and  shivered  to  atoms  the  yoke  of  their  oppressors. 


274(  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1813 

Some  days  of  intense  anxiety  now  elapsed,  and  various  inci- 
dents occurred  to  keep  up  the  general  excitement.  Reinforcements 
came  gradually  in,  no  hostile  measure  was  resorted  to  by  the  French 
troops,  yet  the  want  of  success,  as  rapid  as  was  proportioned  to  the 
first  movements  of  the  revolution,  threw  a  gloom  over  all.  Am- 
sterdam and  Rotterdam  still  held  back,  but  the  nomination  of 
Messrs.  Van  Hogendorp  and  Van  der  Duyn  Van  Maesdam  to  be 
heads  of  the  government  until  the  arrival  of  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
and  a  formal  abjuration  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  inspired  new 
vigor  into  the  public  mind.  Two  nominal  armies  mustering  barely 
I200  men  were  set  on  foot  and  received  the  grandiloquent  titles 
of  the  army  of  Utrecht  and  the  army  of  Gorcum. 

The  "  army  of  Gorcum  "  marched  on  the  22d  on  Rotterdam. 
Its  arrival  was  joyfully  hailed  by  the  people,  who  contributed  300 
volunteers  to  swell  its  ranks.  The  "  army  of  Utrecht "  advanced 
on  Leyden  and  raised  the  spirits  of  the  people  by  the  display  of  even 
so  small  a  force.  But  still  the  contrary  winds  kept  back  all  appear- 
ance of  succor  from  England,  and  the  enemy  was  known  to  meditate 
a  general  attack  on  the  patriot  lines  from  Amsterdam  to  Dordrecht. 
The  bad  state  of  the  roads  still  retarded  the  approach  of  the  far 
distant  armies  of  the  allies,  and  alarms,  true  and  false,  were  spread 
on  all  hands,  when  the  appearance  of  300  Cossacks,  detached  from 
the  Russian  armies  beyond  the  Yssel,  prevailed  over  the  hesitation 
of  Amsterdam  and  the  other  towns,  and  they  at  length  declared 
for  the  Prince  of  Orange. 

But  this  somewhat  tardy  determination  seemed  to  be  the  signal 
for  various  petty  events  which  at  an  epoch  like  that  were  magnified 
into  transactions  of  the  most  fatal  import.  A  reinforcement  of 
1500  French  troops  reached  Gorcum  from  Antwerp,  a  detachment 
of  twenty-five  Dutch,  with  a  piece  of  cannon,  were  surprised  at 
one  of  the  outposts  of  Woerden,  which  had  been  previously  evacu- 
ated by  the  French,  and  the  recapture  of  the  town  was  accompanied 
by  some  excesses.  The  numbers  and  the  cruelties  of  the  enemy 
were  greatly  exaggerated.  Consternation  began  to  spread  over  all 
the  country.  The  French,  who  seemed  to  have  recovered  from 
their  panic,  had  resumed  on  all  sides  offensive  operations.  The 
garrison  of  Gorcum  made  a  sortie,  repulsed  the  force  under  Gen- 
eral Van  Landas,  entered  the  town  of  Dordrecht,  and  levied  con- 
tributions. But  the  inhabitants  soon  expelled  them,  and  the  army 
was  enabled  to  resume  its  position. 


FRENCH    INVASION  «76 

1813 

Still  the  wind  continued  adverse  to  arrivals  from  the  English 
coast,  the  Cossacks,  so  often  announced,  had  not  yet  reached  The 
Hague,  and  the  small  unsupported  parties  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Amsterdam  were  in  daily  danger  of  being  cut  off. 

In  this  crisis  the  confederates  were  placed  in  a  most  critical 
position.  On  the  eve  of  failure,  and  with  the  certainty,  in  such  a 
result,  of  being  branded  as  rebels  and  zealots,  whose  rashness  had 
drawn  down  ruin  on  themselves,  their  families,  and  their  country, 
it  required  no  common  share  of  fortitude  to  bear  up  against  the 
danger  that  threatened  them.  Aware  of  its  extent,  they  calmly 
and  resolutely  opposed  it,  and  each  seemed  to  vie  with  the  others  in 
energy  and  firmness. 

On  November  t-J  a  messenger  arrived  from  England  with  a 
letter  from  the  Prince  of  Orange  announcing  his  immediate  com- 
ing; and  finally  the  disembarkation  of  200  English  marines,  on  the 
29th,  was  followed  the  next  day  by  the  landing  of  the  prince,  whose 
impatience  to  throw  himself  into  the  open  arms  of  his  country  made 
him  spurn  every  notion  of  risk  and  every  reproach  for  rashness. 
He  was  received  with  indescribable  enthusiasm.  The  generous 
flame  rushed  through  the  whole  country.  No  bounds  were  set  to 
the  affectionate  confidence  of  the  nation,  and  no  prince  ever  gave 
a  nobler  example  of  gratitude.  As  the  people  everywhere  pro- 
claimed William  I.  sovereign  prince,  it  was  proposed  that  he  should 
everywhere  assume  that  title.  It  was,  however,  after  some  consid- 
eration decided  that  no  step  of  this  nature  should  be  taken  till  he 
had  visited  the  capital.  On  December  i  the  prince  issued  a  procla- 
mation to  his  countrymen,  in  which  he  stated  his  hopes  of  becom- 
ing, by  the  blessing  of  Providence,  the  means  of  restoring  them  to 
their  former  state  of  independence  and  prosperity.  "  This,"  con- 
tinued he,  "  is  my  only  object,  and  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  assur- 
ing you  that  it  is  also  the  object  of  the  combined  powers.  This  is 
particularly  the  wish  of  the  prince  regent  and  the  British  nation, 
and  it  will  be  proved  to  you  by  the  succor  which  that  powerful 
people  will  immediately  afford  you,  and  which  will,  I  hope,  restore 
those  ancient  bonds  of  alliance  and  friendship  which  were  a  source 
of  prosperity  and  happiness  to  both  countries."  This  address  being 
distributed  at  Amsterdam,  a  proclamation,  signed  by  the  com- 
missioners of  the  confederate  patriots,  was  published  there  the 
same  day.  It  contained  the  following  passages,  remarkable  as 
being  the  first  authentic  declaration  of  the  sovereignty  subsequently 


276  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1813 

conferred  on  the  Prince  of  Orange :  "  The  uncertainty  which 
formerly  existed  as  to  the  executive  power  will  no  longer  para- 
lyze your  efforts.  It  is  not  William,  the  sixth  stadtholder,  whom 
the  nation  recalls,  without  knowing  what  to  hope  or  expect  from 
him;  but  William  I.,  who  offers  himself  as  sovereign  prince  of  this 
free  country."  The  following  day,  December  2,  the  prince  made 
his  entry  into  Amsterdam.  On  December  3  he  published  an  address, 
from  which  we  shall  quote  one  paragraph :  "  You  desire,  Nether- 
landers,  that  I  should  be  intrusted  with  a  greater  share  of  power 
than  I  should  have  possessed  but  for  my  absence.  Your  confidence, 
your  affection,  offer  me  the  sovereignty;  and  I  am  called  upon 
to  accept  it,  since  the  state  of  my  country  and  the  situation  of 
Europe  require  it.  I  accede  to  your  wishes.  I  overlook  the  diffi- 
culties which  may  attend  such  a  measure ;  I  accept  the  offer  which 
you  have  made  me,  but  I  accept  it  only  on  one  condition — that 
it  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  wise  constitution,  which  shall  guarantee 
your  liberties,  and  secure  them  against  every  attack.  My  ancestors 
sowed  the  seeds  of  your  independence;  the  preservation  of  that 
independence  shall  be  the  constant  object  of  the  efforts  of  myself 
and  those  around  me." 


PART  IV 

THE  KINGDOMS  OF  HOLLAND  AND 
BELGIUM.     1814-1910 


Chapter    XXIII 

WILLIAM   I.   AS   PRINCE  AND   SOVEREIGN  OF 
THE  NETHERLANDS.     1814-1815 

THE  regeneration  of  Holland  was  rapid  and  complete. 
Within  four  months  an  army  of  25,000  men  was  raised, 
and  in  the  midst  of  financial,  judicial,  and  commercial 
arrangements  the  grand  object  of  the  constitution  was  calmly  and 
seriously  debated.  A  committee  consisting  of  fourteen  persons 
of  the  first  importance  in  the  several  provinces  furnished  the  result 
of  three  months'  labors  in  the  plan  of  a  political  code,  which  was 
immediately  printed  and  published  for  the  consideration  of  the 
people  at  large.  Twelve  hundred  names  were  next  chosen  from 
among  the  most  respectable  householders  in  the  different  towns 
and  provinces,  including  persons  of  every  religious  persuasion, 
whether  Jews  or  Christians.  A  special  commission  was  then 
formed,  who  selected  from  this  number  600  names,  and  every 
housekeeper  was  called  on  to  give  his  vote  for  or  against  their  elec- 
tion. A  large  majority  of  the  600  notables  thus  chosen  met  at 
Amsterdam  on  March  28,  18 14.  The  following  day  they  assembled 
with  an  immense  concourse  of  people,  in  the  great  church,  which 
was  splendidly  fitted  up  for  the  occasion,  and  then  and  there  the 
prince,  in  an  impressive  speech,  solemnly  offered  the  constitution 
for  acceptance  or  rejection.  After  a  few  hours'  deliberation  a 
discharge  of  artillery  announced  to  the  anxious  population  that 
the  constitution  had  been  accepted.  The  numbers  present  were 
483,  and  the  votes  as  follows :    ayes,  458 ;  noes,  25. 

There  were  117  members  absent,  several  of  whom  were  kept 
away  by  unavoidable  obstacles.  The  majority  among  them  was 
considered  as  dissentients,  but  it  was  calculated  that  if  the  whole 
body  of  600  had  voted,  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  would  have 
been  carried  by  a  majority  of  five-sixths.  The  dissentients  chiefly 
objected  to  the  power  of  declaring  war  and  concluding  treaties  of 
peace  being  vested  in  the  sovereign.  Some  individuals  urged  that 
the  Protestant  interest  was  endangered  by  the  admission  of  persons 
of  every  persuasion  to  all  public  offices,  and  the  Catholics  complained 

279 


280  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1814 

that  the  state  did  not  sufficiently  contribute  to  the  support  of  their 
rehgious  establishments. 

Such  objections  as  these  were  to  be  expected  from  individual 
interest  or  sectarian  prejudices.  But  they  prove  that  the  whole 
plan  was  fairly  considered  and  solemnly  adopted,  that  so  far  from 
being  the  dictation  of  a  g"overnment,  it  was  the  freely  chosen  charter 
of  the  nation  at  large,  offered  and  sworn  to  by  the  prince,  whose 
authority  was  only  exerted  in  restraining  and  modifying  the  over- 
ardent  generosity  and  confidence  of  the  people. 

Only  one  day  more  elapsed  before  the  new  sovereign  was 
solemnly  inaugurated  and  took  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  consti- 
tution :  "  I  swear  that  first  and  above  all  things  I  will  maintain 
the  constitution  of  the  United  Netherlands,  and  that  I  will  promote, 
to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  the  independence  of  the  state,  and  the 
liberty  and  prosperity  of  its  inhabitants." 

While  Holland  thus  resumed  its  place  among  free  nations, 
and  France  was  restored  to  the  Bourbons  by  the  abdication  of 
Napoleon,  the  allied  armies  had  taken  possession  of  and  occupied 
the  remainder  of  the  Low  Countries,  or  those  provinces  dis- 
tinguished by  the  name  of  Belgium  (but  then  still  forming  depart- 
ments of  the  French  empire),  and  the  provisional  government  was 
vested  in  Baron  Vincent,  the  Austrian  general.  This  choice 
seemed  to  indicate  an  intention  of  restoring  Austria  to  her  ancient 
domination  over  the  country.  Such  was  certainly  the  common 
opinion  among  those  who  had  no  means  of  penetrating  the  secrets 
of  European  policy  at  that  important  epoch.  It  was,  in  fact,  quite 
conformable  to  the  principle  of  status  quo  ante  helium  adopted 
toward  France.  Baron  Vincent  himself  seemed  to  have  been  im- 
pressed with  the  false  notion,  and  there  did  not  exist  a  doubt 
throughout  Belgium  of  the  reestablishment  of  the  old  institutions. 

But  the  intentions  of  the  allied  powers  were  of  a  nature  far 
different.  The  necessity  of  a  consolidated  state  capable  of  offering 
a  barrier  to  French  aggression  on  the  Flemish  frontier  seemed  evi- 
dent to  the  various  powers  who  had  so  long  suffered  from  its  want 
By  England  particularly  such  a  field  was  required  for  the  opera- 
tions of  her  armies ;  and  Prussia,  and  even  France,  in  the  person  of 
Talleyrand,  favored  the  formation  of  this  "buffer"  state,  which 
well  suited  the  ambitious  views  of  the  Prince  of  Orange. 

The  treaty  of  Paris  (May  30,  18 14)  was  the  first  act  which 
gave  an  open  manifestation  of  this  principle.      It  was  stipulated 


WILLIAM     I  5B81 

1814 

by  its  sixth  article  that  "  Holland,  placed  under  the  sovereignty  of 
the  house  of  Orange,  should  receive  an  increase  of  territory."  In 
this  was  explained  the  primitive  notion  of  the  creation  of  the  king- 
dom of  the  Netherlands,  based  on  the  necessity  of  augmenting  the 
power  of  a  nation  which  was  destined  to  hold  the  balance  between 
France  and  Germany.  The  following  month  witnessed  the  execu- 
tion of  the  treaty  of  London,  which  prescribed  the  precise  nature 
of  the  projected  increase. 

It  was  wholly  decided,  without  subjecting  the  question  to  the 
approbation  of  the  Belgians,^  that  that  country  and  Holland  should 
form  one  united  state,  and  the  rules  of  government  in  the  chief 
branches  of  its  administration  were  completely  fixed.  The  Prince 
of  Orange  and  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  great  allied  powers  cove- 
nanted by  this  treaty,  first,  that  the  union  of  the  two  portions  form- 
ing the  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands  should  be  as  perfect  as 
possible,  forming  one  state,  governed  in  conformity  with  the  fun- 
damental law  of  Holland,  which  might  be  modified  by  common 
consent;  secondly,  that  religious  liberty  and  the  equal  right  of 
citizens  of  all  persuasions  to  fill  all  the  employments  of  the  state 
should  be  maintained;  thirdly,  that  the  Belgian  provinces  should 
be  fairly  represented  in  the  assembly  of  the  states-general,  and  that 
the  sessions  of  the  states  in  time  of  peace  should  be  held  alternately 
in  Belgium  and  in  Holland;  fourthly  and  fifthly,  that  all  the  com- 
mercial privileges  of  the  country  should  be  common  to  the  citizens 
at  large,  that  the  Dutch  colonies  should  be  considered  as  belonging 
equally  to  Belgium,  and  finally,  that  the  public  debt  of  the  two 
countries,  and  the  expenses  of  its  interest,  should  be  borne  in 
common. 

We  shall  now  briefly  recapitulate  some  striking  points  in  the 
materials  which  were  thus  meant  to  be  amalgamated.  Holland, 
wrenched  from  the  Spanish  yoke  by  the  genius  and  courage  of  the 
early  princes  of  Orange,  had  formed  for  two  centuries  an  inde- 
pendent republic,  to  which  the  extension  of  maritime  commerce 
had  given  immense  wealth.  The  form  of  government  was  re- 
markable. It  was  composed  of  seven  provinces,  mutually  inde- 
pendent of  each  other.  These  provinces  possessed  during  the 
Middle  Ages  constitutions  nearly  similar  to  that  of  England — a 
sovereign  with  limited  power,  representatives  of  the  nobles  and 

^  "  Because,"  says  the  protocol,  "  they  had  not  done  enough  on  their  own 
behalf  to  justify  independence  being  conferred  upon  them." 


282  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1814 

commons,  whose  concurrence  with  the  prince  was  necessary  for  the 
formation  of  laws,  and,  finally,  the  existence  of  municipal  privi- 
leges, which  each  town  preserved  and  extended  by  means  of  its 
proper  force.  This  state  of  things  had  known  but  one  alteration, 
— but  that  a  mighty  one — the  forfeiture  of  Philip  II.  at  the  latter 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  total  abolition  of  monarchical 
power. 

The  remaining  forms  of  the  government  were  hardly  altered, 
so  that  the  state  was  wholly  regulated  by  its  ancient  usages,  and, 
like  some  Gothic  edifice,  its  beauty  and  solidity  were  original  to 
itself  and  different  from  the  general  rules  and  modern  theories 
of  surrounding  nations.  The  country  loved  its  liberty,  such  as  it 
found  it,  and  not  in  the  fashion  of  any  Utopian  plan  traced  by  some 
new-fangled  system  of  political  philosophy.  Inherently  Protestant 
and  commercial,  the  Dutch  abhorred  every  yoke  but  that  of  their 
own  laws,  of  which  they  were  proud  even  in  their  abuse.  They 
held  in  particular  detestation  all  French  customs,  in  remembrance 
of  the  wretchedness  they  had  suffered  from  French  tyranny,  and 
had  unbounded  confidence  in  the  house  of  Orange,  from  long  ex- 
perience of  its  hereditary  virtues.  The  main  strength  of  Holland 
was,  in  fact,  in  its  recollection;  but  these,  perhaps,  generated  a 
germ  of  discontent,  in  leading  it  to  expect  a  revival  of  all  the  in- 
fluence it  had  lost,  and  was  little  likely  to  recover,  in  the  total 
change  of  systems  and  the  variations  of  trade.  There  nevertheless 
remained  sufficient  capital  in  the  country,  and  the  people  were 
sufficiently  enlightened,  to  give  just  and  extensive  hope  for  the 
future  which  now  dawned  on  them.  The  obstacles  offered  by  the 
Dutch  character  to  the  proposed  union  were  chiefly  to  be  found  in 
the  dogmatical  opinions  consequent  on  the  isolation  of  the  country 
from  all  the  principles  that  actuated  other  states,  and  particularly 
that  with  which  it  was  now  joined,  while  long-cherished  sentiments 
of  opposition  to  the  Catholic  religion  were  little  likely  to  lead  to 
feelings  of  accommodation  and  sympathy  with  its  new  fellow- 
citizens. 

The  inhabitants  of  Belgium,  accustomed  to  foreign  domina- 
tion, were  little  shocked  by  the  fact  of  the  allied  powers  having 
disposed  of  their  fate  without  consulting  their  wishes.  But"  they 
were  not  so  indifferent  to  the  double  discovery  of  finding  them- 
selves the  subjects  of  a  Dutch  and  a  Protestant  king.  Without 
entering  at  large  into  any  invidious  discussion  on  the  causes  of  the 


WILLIAM    I  283 

1814 

natural  jealousy  which  they  felt  toward  Holland,  it  may  suffice  to 
state  that  such  did  exist,  and  in  no  very  moderate  degree.  The 
countries  had  hitherto  had  but  very  little  community  of  interests 
with  each  other,  and  they  formed  elements  so  utterly  discordant  as 
to  afford  but  slight  hope  that  they  would  speedily  coalesce.  The 
lower  classes  of  the  Belgian  population  were  ignorant  as  well  as 
superstitious  (not  that  these  two  qualities  are  to  be  considered  as 
inseparable)  and  if  they  were  averse  to  the  Dutch,  they  were  per- 
haps not  more  favorably  disposed  to  the  French  and  Austrians. 
The  majority  of  the  nobles  may  be  said  to  have  leaned  more,  at  this 
period,  to  the  latter  than  to  either  of  the  other  two  peoples.  But 
the  great  majority  of  the  industrious  and  better-informed  portions 
of  the  middle  orders  felt  different  from  the  other  two,  because 
they  had  found  tangible  and  positive  advantages  in  their  subjection 
to  France  which  overpowered  every  sentiment  of  political  degrada- 
tion. On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  unquestionable  that  the  Bel- 
gians would  have  preferred  a  restoration  of  the  Catholic  house  of 
Austria,  the  historical  heir  of  Burgundy  and  Flanders,  to  the  union 
with  Protestant  Holland. 

We  thus  see  there  was  little  sympathy  between  the  members 
of  the  national  family.  The  first  glance  at  the  geographical  posi- 
sition  of  Holland  and  Belgium  might  lead  to  a  belief  that  their 
interests  were  analogous.  But  we  have  traced  the  anomalies  in 
government  and  religion  in  the  two  countries  which  led  to  totally 
different  pursuits  and  feelings.  Holland  had  sacrificed  manu- 
factures to  commerce.  The  introduction,  duty  free,  of  grain  from 
the  northern  parts  of  Europe,  though  checking  the  progress  of 
agriculture,  had  not  prevented  it  from  flourishing  marvelously,  con- 
sidering this  obstacle  to  culture;  and,  faithful  to  their  traditional 
notions,  the  Dutch  saw  the  elements  of  well-being  only  in  that  liberty 
of  importation  which  had  made  their  harbors  the  marts  and  maga- 
zines of  Europe. 

Totally  unaccustomed  to  the  free  principles  of  trade  so  cher- 
ished by  the  Dutch,  the  Belgians,  on  the  other  hand,  had  found, 
under  the  protection  of  the  French  custom-house  laws,  an  internal 
commerce  and  agricultural  advantages  which  composed  their  pecu- 
liar prosperity.  They  found  a  consumption  for  the  produce  of 
their  well-cultivated  lands,  at  high  prices,  in  the  neighboring  prov- 
inces of  France.  The  webs  woven  by  the  Belgian  peasantry,  and 
generally  all  the  manufactures  of  the  country,  met  no  rivalry  from 


284  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1814-1815 

those  of  England,  which  were  strictly  prohibited;  and  being  com- 
monly superior  to  those  of  France,  the  sale  was  sure  and  the  profit 
considerable. 

Belgium  was  as  naturally  desirous  of  this  state  of  things  as 
Holland  was  indifferent  to  it,  but  it  could  only  have  been  accom- 
plished by  the  destruction  of  free  trade  and  the  exclusive  protection 
of  internal  manufactures.  Under  such  discrepancies  as  we  have 
thus  traced  in  religion,  character,  and  local  interests  the  two  coun- 
tries were  made  one,  and  on  the  new  monarch  developed  the  hard 
and  delicate  task  of  reconciling  each  party  in  the  ill-assorted  match 
and  inspiring  them  with  sentiments  of  mutual  moderation. 

Under  the  title  of  governor-general  of  the  Netherlands  (for 
his  intended  elevation  to  the  throne  and  the  definitive  junction  of 
Holland  and  Belgium  were  still  publicly  unknown),  the  Prince  of 
Orange  repaired  to  his  new  state.  He  arrived  at  Brussels  in  the 
month  of  August,  1814,  and  his  first  effort  was  to  gain  the  hearts 
and  the  confidence  of  the  people,  though  he  saw  the  nobles  and  the 
higher  orders  of  the  inferior  classes  (with  the  exception  of  the 
merchants)  intriguing  all  around  him  for  the  reestablishment  of 
the  Austrian  power.  Petitions  on  this  subject  were  printed  and 
distributed,  and  the  models  of  those  anti-national  documents  may 
still  be  referred  to  in  a  work  published  at  the  time. 

As  soon  as  the  moment  came  for  promulgating  the  decision  of 
the  sovereign  powers  as  to  the  actual  extent  of  the  new  kingdom — 
that  is  to  say,  in  the  month  of  February,  181 5 — the  whole  plan  was 
made  public,  and  a  commission,  consisting  of  twenty-seven  mem- 
bers, Dutch  and  Belgian,  was  formed  to  consider  the  modifications 
necessary  in  the  fundamental  law  of  Holland  in  pursuance  of  the 
stipulation  of  the  treaty  of  London.  After  due  deliberation 
these  modifications  were  formed,  and  the  great  political  pact 
was  completed  for  the  final  acceptance  of  the  king  and  people. 

As  a  document  so  important  merits  particular  consideration  in 
reference  to  the  formation  of  the  new  monarchy,  we  shall  briefly 
condense  the  reasonings  of  the  most  impartial  and  well-informed 
classes  in  the  country  on  the  constitution  now  about  to  be  framed. 
Everyone  agreed  that  some  radical  change  in  the  whole  form  of 
government  was  necessary,  and  that  its  main  improvement  should 
be  the  strengthening  of  the  executive  power.  That  possessed  by 
the  former  stadtholders  of  Holland  was  often  found  to  be  too 
much  for  the  chief  of  a  republic,  too  little  for  the  head  of  a  mon- 


WILLIAM     I  "  ■  «86 

1815 

archy.  The  assembly  of  the  states-general,  as  of  old  constructed, 
was  defective  in  many  points;  in  none  so  glaringly  so  as  in  that 
condition  which  required  unanimity  in  questions  of  peace  or  war, 
and  in  the  provision,  from  which  they  had  no  power  to  swerve,  that 
all  the  taxes  should  be  uniform.  Both  these  stipulations  were,  of 
sheer  necessity,  continually  disregarded,  so  that  the  government 
could  be  carried  on  at  all  only  by  repeated  violations  of  the  con- 
stitution. In  order  to  excuse  measures  dictated  by  this  necessity, 
each  stadtholder  was  perpetually  obliged  to  form  partisans,  and  he 
thus  became  the  hereditary  head  of  a  faction.  His  legitimate 
power  was  trifling,  but  his  influence  was  capable  of  fearful  increase, 
for  the  principle  which  allowed  him  to  infringe  the  constitution, 
even  on  occasions  of  public  good,  might  be  easily  warped  into  a- 
pretext  for  encroachments  that  had  no  bounds  but  his  own  will. 

Besides,  the  preponderance  of  the  deputies  from  the  commer- 
cial towns  in  the  states-general  caused  the  others  to  become  mere 
ciphers  in  times  of  peace,  only  capable  of  clogging  the  march  of 
affairs  and  of  being,  on  occasions  of  civil  dissensions,  the  mere 
tools  of  whatever  party  possessed  the  greatest  tact  in  turning  them 
to  their  purpose.  Hence  a  wide  field  was  open  to  corruption. 
Uncertainty  embarrassed  every  operation  of  the  government.  The 
Hague  became  an  arena  for  the  conflicting  intrigues  of  every  court 
in  Europe.  Holland  was  dragged  into  almost  every  war,  and  thus 
gradually  weakened  from  its  rank  among  independent  nations,  it 
at  length  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  French  invaders. 

To  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  evils  as  these,  and  to  estab- 
lish a  kingdom  on  the  solid  basis  of  a  monarchy,  unequivocal  in  its 
essence,  yet  restrained  in  its  prerogative,  the  constitution  we  are 
now  examining  was  established.  According  to  the  report  of  the 
commissioners  who  framed  it,  "  it  is  founded  on  the  manners  and 
habits  of  the  nation,  on  its  public  economy  and  its  old  institutions, 
with  a  disregard  for  the  ephemeral  constitutions  of  the  age.  It 
is  not  a  mere  abstraction,  more  or  less  ingenious,  but  a  law  adapted 
to  the  state  of  the  country  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It  did  not 
reconstruct  what  was  worn  out  by  time,  but  it  revived  all  that  was 
worth  preserving.  In  such  a  system  of  laws  and  institutions  well 
adapted  to  each  other  the  members  of  the  commission  belonging  to 
the  Belgian  provinces  recognized  the  basis  of  their  ancient  charters 
and  the  principles  of  their  former  liberty.  They  found  no  difficulty 
in  adapting  this  law  so  as  to  make  it  common  to  the  two  nations 


286  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1815 

united  by  ties  which  had  been  broken  only  for  their  own  misfortune 
and  that  of  Europe,  and  which  it  was  once  more  the  interest  of 
Europe  to  render  indissoluble." 

The  news  of  the  elevation  of  William  I.  to  the  throne  was  re- 
ceived in  the  Dutch  provinces  with  great  joy,  in  as  far  as  it  con- 
cerned him  personally;  but  a  joy  considerably  tempered  by  doubt 
and  jealousy,  as  regarded  their  junction  with  a  country  sufficiently 
large  to  counterbalance  Holland,  oppose  interests  to  interests,  and 
people  to  people.  National  pride  and  oversanguine  expectations 
prevented  a  calm  judgment  on  the  existing  state  of  Europe,  and  on 
the  impossibility  of  Holland,  in  its  ancient  limits,  maintaining  the 
influence  which  it  was  hoped  it  would  acquire. 

In  Belgium  the  formation  of  the  new  monarchy  excited  the 
most  lively  sensation.  The  clergy  and  the  nobility  were  consider- 
ably agitated  and  not  slightly  alarmed,  the  latter  fearing  the 
resentment  of  the  king  for  their  avowed  predilection  in  favor  of 
Austria,  and  perceiving  the  destruction  of  every  hope  of  aris- 
tocratical  domination.  The  more  elevated  of  the  middle  classes 
also  saw  an  end  to  their  exclusive  occupation  of  magisterial  and 
municipal  employments.  The  manufacturers,  great  and  small, 
saw  the  ruin  of  monopoly  staring  them  in  the  face.  The  whole 
people  took  fright  at  the  weight  of  the  Dutch  debt,  which  was 
considerably  greater  than  that  of  Belgium.  No  one  seemed  to  look 
beyond  the  present  moment.  The  advantage  of  colonial  posses- 
sions seemed  remote  and  questionable  to  those  who  possessed  no 
maritime  commerce,  and  the  pride  of  national  independence  was 
foreign  to  the  feelings  of  those  who  had  never  yet  tasted  its 
blessings. 

It  was  in  this  state  of  public  feeling  that  intelligence  was 
received,  in  March,  1815,  of  the  reappearance  in  France  of  the 
Emperor  Napoleon.  At  the  head  of  three  hundred  men  he  had 
taken  the  resolution,  without  parallel  even  among  the  grandest 
of  his  own  powerful  conceptions,  of  invading  a  country  containing 
thirty  millions  of  people,  girded  by  the  protecting  armies  of 
coalesced  Europe,  and  imbued,  beyond  all  doubt,  with  an  almost 
general  objection  to  the  former  despot  who  now  put  his  foot  on  its 
shores,  with  imperial  pretensions  only  founded  on  the  memory  of 
his  bygone  glory.  His  march  to  Paris  was  a  miracle,  and  the  vigor 
of  his  subsequent  measures  redeems  the  ambitious  imbecility  with 
which  he  had  hurried  on  the  catastrophe  of  his  previous  fall. 


WILLIAM    I  «87 

1815 

The  flight  of  Louis  XVIIL  from  Paris  was  the  sure  signal  to 
the  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands,  in  which  he  took  refuge,  that  it 
was  about  to  become  the  scene  of  another  contest  for  the  life  or 
death  of  despotism.  Had  the  invasion  of  Belgium,  which  now  took 
place,  been  led  on  by  one  of  the  Bourbon  family,  it  is  probable  that 
the  priesthood,  the  people,  and  even  the  nobility,  would  have  given 
it  not  merely  a  negative  support.  But  the  name  of  Napoleon 
was  a  bugbear  for  every  class,  and  the  efforts  of  the  king  and  gov- 
ernment, which  met  with  most  enthusiastic  support  in  the  northern 
provinces,  were  seconded  with  zeal  and  courage  by  the  rest  of  the 
kingdom. 

The  national  force  was  soon  in  the  field,  under  the  command 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  the  king's  eldest  son  and  heir  apparent  to 
the  throne  for  which  he  now  prepared  to  fight.  His  brother, 
Prince  Frederick,  commanded  a  division  under  him.  The  English 
army,  under  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  occupied  Brussels  and  the 
various  cantonments  in  its  neighborhood,  and  the  Prussians,  com- 
manded by  Marshal  Bliicher,  were  in  readiness  to  cooperate  with 
their  allies  on  the  first  movement  of  the  invaders. 

Napoleon,  hurrying  from  Paris  to  strike  some  rapid  and 
decisive  blow,  passed  the  Sambre  on  June  15,  at  the  head  of  the 
French  army  150,000  strong,  driving  the  Prussians  before  him 
beyond  Charleroi  and  back  on  the  plain  of  Fleurus  with  some  loss. 
On  the  1 6th  was  fought  the  bloody  battle  of  Ligny,  in  which  the 
Prussians  sustained  a  decided  defeat,  but  they  retreated  in  good 
order  on  the  little  River  Lys,  followed  by  Marshal  Grouchy  with 
30,000  men  detached  by  Napoleon  in  their  pursuit.  On  the  same 
day  the  British  advanced  position  at  Quatre  Bras  and  the  corps 
d'armee  commanded  by  the  Prince  of  Orange  were  fiercely  attacked 
by  Marshal  Ney,  a  battalion  of  Belgian  infantry  and  a  brigade  of 
horse  artillery  having  been  engaged  in  a  skirmish  the  preceding 
evening  at  Frasnes  with  the  French  advanced  troops. 

The  affair  of  Quatre  Bras  was  sustained  with  admirable  firm- 
ness by  the  allied  English  and  Netherland  forces  against  an 
enemy  infinitely  superior  in  number  and  commanded  by  one  of 
the  best  generals  in  France.  The  Prince  of  Orange,  with  only 
9000  men,  maintained  his  position  till  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, despite  the  continual  attacks  of  Marshal  Ney,  who  com- 
manded the  left  of  the  French  army,  consisting  of  43,000  men. 
But  the  interest  of  this  combat  and  the  details  of  the  loss  in  killed 


288  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1815 

and  wounded  are  so  merged  in  the  succeeding  battle,  which  took 
place  on  the  i8th,  that  they  form  in  most  minds  a  combination  of 
exploits  which  the  interval  of  a  day  can  scarcely  be  considered  to 
have  separated. 

The  17th  was  occupied  by  a  retrograde  movement  of  the 
allied  army,  directed  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  its  stand  on  the  position  he  had  previously  fixed  on  for 
the  pitched  battle,  the  decisive  nature  of  which  his  determined  fore- 
sight had  anticipated.  Several  affairs  between  the  French  and 
English  cavalry  took  place  during  this  movement,  and  it  is  pretty 
well  established  that  the  enemy,  flushed  with  the  victory  over 
Bliicher  of  the  preceding  day,  were  deceived  by  this  short  retreat  of 
Wellington  and  formed  a  very  mistaken  notion  of  its  real  object, 
or  of  the  desperate  reception  destined  for  the  morrow's  attack. 

The  battle  of  Waterloo  has  been  over  and  over  described  and 
profoundly  felt,  until  its  records  may  be  said  to  exist  in  the  very 
hearts  and  memories  of  the  nations.^  The  fiery  valor  of  the  assault 
and  the  unshakable  firmness  of  the  resistance  are  perhaps  without 
parallel  in  the  annals  of  war.  The  immense  stake  depending  on 
the  result,  the  grandeur  of  Napoleon's  isolated  efforts  against  the 
flower  of  the  European  forces,  and  the  awful  responsibility  resting 
on  the  great  leader  of  these  latter,  give  to  the  conflict  a  romantic 
sublimity  unshared  by  all  the  maneuvering  of  science  in  a  hundred 
commonplace  combats  of  other  wars.  It  forms  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  battles.  It  is  to  the  full  as  memorable  as  an  individual 
event  as  it  is  for  the  consequences  which  followed  it.  It  was 
fought  by  no  rules,  and  gained  by  no  tactics.  It  was  a  fair  stand- 
up  fight  on  level  ground,  where  downright  manly  courage  was 
alone  to  decide  the  issue.  This  derogates  in  nothing  from  the 
splendid  talents  and  deep  knowledge  of  the  rival  commanders. 
Their  reputation  for  all  the  intricate  qualities  of  generalship  rests  on 
the  broad  base  of  previous  victories.  This  day  was  to  be  won  by 
strength  of  nerve  and  steadiness  of  heart,  and  a  moral  grandeur  is 
thrown  over  its  result  by  the  reflection  that  human  skill  had  little 
to  do  where  so  much  was  left  to  Providence. 

We  abstain  from  entering  on  details  of  the  battle.  It  is 
enough  to  state  that  throughout  the  day  the  troops  of  the  Nether- 
lands sustained  the  character  for  courage  which  so  many  centuries 

2  Perhaps  the  best  account  of  the  battle  ever  written  will  be  found  in  Victor 
Hugo's  "  Les  Miserables." 


WILLIAM     I  «89 

1815 

had  esablished.  Various  opinions  have  gone  forth  as  to  the  con- 
duct of  the  Belgian  troops  on  this  memorable  occasion.  Isolated 
instances  were  possibly  found  among  a  mass  of  several  thousands 
of  that  nervous  weakness  which  neither  the  noblest  incitements 
nor  the  finest  examples  can  conquer.  Old  associations  and  feelings 
not  effaced  might  have  slackened  the  efforts  of  a  few,  directed 
against  former  comrades  or  personal  friends  whom  the  stern  ne- 
cessity of  politics  had  placed  in  opposing  ranks.  Raw  troops  might 
here  and  there  have  shrunk  from  attacks  the  most  desperate  on 
record,  but  that  the  great  principle  of  public  duty,  on  grounds 
purely  national,  pervaded  the  army,  is  to  be  found  in  the  official 
reports  of  its  loss — 2068  men  killed  and  2084  wounded  prove 
indelibly  that  the  troops  of  the  Netherlands  had  their  full  share 
in  the  honor  of  the  day.^  The  victory  was  cemented  by  the  blood 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  stood  the  brunt  of  the  fight  with  his 
gallant  soldiers.  His  conduct  was  conformable  to  the  character  of 
his  whole  race,  and  to  his  own  reputation  during  a  long  series  of 
service  with  the  British  army  in  the  Spanish  peninsula.  He  stood 
bravely  at  the  head  of  his  troops  during  the  murderous  conflict, 
or,  like  Wellington,  in  whose  school  he  was  formed  and  whose 
example  was  beside  him,  rode  from  rank  to  rank  and  column  to 
column,  inspiring  his  men  by  the  proofs  of  his  untiring  courage. 

Several  anecdotes  are  related  of  the  prince's  conduct  through- 
out the  day.  One  is  remarkable  as  affording  an  example  of  those 
pithy  epigrams  of  the  battlefield  with  which  history  abounds,  ac- 
companied by  an  act  that  speaks  a  fine  knowledge  of  the  soldier's 
heart.  On  occasion  of  one  peculiarly  desperate  charge,  the  prince, 
hurried  on  by  his  ardor,  was  actually  in  the  midst  of  the  French,  and 
was  in  the  greatest  danger,  when  a  Belgian  battalion  rushed  for- 
ward, and,  after  a  fierce  struggle,  repulsed  the  enemy  and  disen- 
gaged the  prince.  In  the  impulse  of  his  admiration  and  gratitude 
he  tore  from  his  breast  one  of  those  decorations  gained  by  his  own 
conduct  on  some  preceding  occasion,  and  flung  it  among  the  bat- 
talion, calling  out,  "  Take  it,  take  it,  my  lads !  you  have  all  earned 
it!"  This  decoration  was  immediately  grappled  for,  and  tied  to 
the  regimental  standard,  amid  loud  shouts  of  "Long  live  the 
prince !  "  and  vows  to  defend  the  trophy,  in  the  very  utterance  of 
which  many  a  brave  fellow  received  the  stroke  of  death. 

'  The  charges  of  cowardice  made  against  the  Belgian  troops  are  refuted  in 
Mr.  Boulger's  "  Belgians  at  Waterloo." 


290  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1815 

A  short  time  afterward,  and  just  half  an  hour  before  that 
terrible  charge  of  the  whole  line  which  decided  the  victory,  the 
prince  was  struck  by  a  musket-ball  in  the  left  shoulder.  He  was 
carried  from  the  field  and  conveyed  that  evening-  to  Brussels,  in 
the  same  cart  with  one  of  his  wounded  aides-de-camp,  supported  by 
another,  and  displaying  throughout  as  much  indifference  to  pain  as 
he  had  previously  shown  contempt  of  danger. 

The  battle  of  Waterloo  consolidated  the  kingdom  of  the 
Netherlands,  The  wound  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  perhaps 
one  of  the  most  fortunate  that  was  ever  received  by  an  individual 
or  sympathized  in  by  a  nation.  To  a  warlike  people,  wavering  in 
their  allegiance,  this  evidence  of  the  prince's  valor  acted  like  a 
talisman  against  disaffection.  The  organization  of  the  kingdom 
was  immediately  proceeded  on.  The  commission  charged  with  the 
revision  of  the  fundamental  law  and  the  modification  required  by 
the  increase  of  territory  presented  its  report  on  July  31.  The  in- 
auguration of  the  king  took  place  at  Brussels  on  September  21,  in 
presence  of  the  states-general,  and  the  ceremony  received  addi- 
tional interest  from  the  appearance  of  the  sovereign  supported  by 
his  two  sons  who  had  so  valiantly  fought  for  the  rights  he  now 
swore  to  maintain,  the  heir  to  the  crown  yet  bearing  his  wounded 
arm  in  a  scarf,  and  showing  in  his  countenance  the  marks  of  recent 
suffering. 


Chapter    XXIV 

THE  BELGIAN  REVOLUTION.    1815-1832 

THE  statesmen  who  met  at  Vienna  in  18 14  to  remake  the 
map  of  Europe  obHterated  by  the  storms  of  the  revolu- 
tionary wars  showed  in  many  ways  their  inability  to 
appreciate  the  lessons  of  the  last  twenty-five  years.  Their  work, 
based  on  the  old  principles  of  absolutism  and  balance  of  power, 
neglected  to  reckon  with  the  tremendous  growth  of  liberalism  and 
national  feeling  which  the  vast  upheaval  of  the  French  Revolution 
and  the  Napoleonic  wars  had  first  inspired,  then  provoked.  This 
blindness  to  actual  conditions  was  well  shown  in  the  union  of 
Holland  and  Belgium  into  one  state.  The  political  map-makers 
of  Vienna  had  thought  only  to  create  a  strong  minor  state  capable 
of  maintaining  itself  by  its  own  resources,  to  serve  as  a  bulwark 
against  any  renewal  of  French  aggression.  They  entirely  forgot 
to  consider  the  differences  of  race,  speech,  religion,  and  political 
development  which  made  the  union  of  Holland  and  Belgium  an 
unnatural  and  precarious  one. 

The  difficulties  which  King  William  I.  had  to  face  were  indeed 
tremendous.  He  was  called  to  rule  impartially  over  two  countries 
whose  character  and  interests  were  in  many  cases  vitally  different. 
Holland  was  Protestant  in  religion,  and  her  prosperity  was  based 
almost  wholly  on  her  commerce.  The  Belgic  provinces  were  Cath- 
olic, had  no  commerce,  and  were  just  entering  on  a  great  industrial 
development  which  called  for  very  different  treatment  from  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  northern  partner.  The  union  made 
without  consulting  them  had  from  the  first  been  distasteful  to  many 
of  the  Belgians.  This  opposition  soon  crystallized  in  two  parties 
very  different  in  character  and  aims,  but  brought  together  in  com- 
mon dislike  for  the  new  state  of  things. 

The  Clericals,  the  same  ultramontane  party  which  had  op- 
posed the  liberal  reforms  of  Joseph  II.,  saw  with  horror  their 
submission  to  a  Calvinist  monarch,  and  opposed  most  bitterly  those 
clauses  in  the  new  constitution  which  provided  for  complete  re- 
ligious liberty.     The  liberal  party,  on  the  other  hand,  an  outgrowth 

391 


293  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1815 

of  the  French  Revolution,  were  dissatisfied  with  the  conservative 
character  of  the  constitution,  which,  while  providing  for  a  legisla- 
ture, really  left  to  the  king  and  his  ministers  the  real  power  in 
the  state,  while  the  liberties  of  the  people,  apparently  guaranteed, 
were  in  fact  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  administration.  Thus  it  hap- 
pened that  when,  on  August  i8,  1815,  the  Fundamental  Law,  as 
the  new  constitution  was  called,  was  submitted  to  an  assembly  of 
Belgian  notables,  it  was  rejected  by  a  large  majority  of  796  votes 
to  527. 

King  William  received  this  first  check  with  the  greatest  sur- 
prise and  indignation.  However,  after  a  little  hesitation,  the  king 
declared  that  the  votes  of  those  who  had  rejected  the  constitution 
for  religious  reasons  should  not  be  counted,  while  the  280  notables 
who  had  not  voted  might  be  regarded  as  favorable.  Thus  was 
declared  adopted  the  Fundamental  Law  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
Netherlands. 

The  union  thus  inauspiciously  begun  might  still  have  hoped 
for  a  peaceful  future  under  a  wise  and  tactful  ruler.  The  mass  of 
the  Belgian  people  were  well  disposed  to  the  ruling  dynasty  and 
quite  content  to  accept  the  new  constitution.  But  unfortunately 
King  William,  though  not  lacking  ability  or  firmness  of  will,  was 
by  no  means  a  wise  or  tactful  man.  He  made  no  attempt  to  con- 
ceal his  strong  Dutch  proclivities,  or  his  lack  of  sympathy  with  his 
Belgian  subjects.  The  king  had  begun  his  reign  by  several  acts 
calculated  to  win  the  regard  of  his  new  subjects.  The  censorship 
of  the  press  was  abolished,  certain  obnoxious  government  monopo- 
lies were  moved,  the  rigors  of  the  French  penal  code  in  force  in 
Belgium  was  softened,  and  the  right  of  petition,  a  very  dear  one 
to  the  Belgians,  was  restored.  But  the  ill-advised  rejection  of  the 
constitution  had  greatly  angered  him,  and  the  conduct  of  the  Bel- 
gian clergy  completed  his  alienation.  The  Catholic  clergy  had 
from  the  first  opposed  steadfastly  those  clauses  in  the  Fundamental 
Law  which  guaranteed  protection  and  freedom  of  worship  to  all 
sects  alike.  This  they  declared  was  subversion  to  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  they  demanded  the  restoration  of  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  which  the  church  had  enjoyed  before  1789.  The  king's 
anger  was  particularly  directed  against  Maurice  de  Broglie,  the 
Prince-Bishop  of  Ghent,  who  had  already  suffered  imprisonment  in 
Napoleon's  time  for  his  fearless  advocacy  of  the  rights  of  the 
church. 


THE     BELGIAN     REVOLUTION  293 

1815-1830 

De  Broglie  had  been  the  leader  among  the  opponents  of  the 
Fundamental  Law,  and,  far  from  ceasing  his  opposition  with  its 
enforcement,  he  in  company  with  other  bishops  issued  a  doctrinal 
judgment  to  the  Belgian  Catholics,  forbidding  the  faithful  to  take 
the  oath  to  uphold  the  constitution,  whose  articles  granting  free 
exercise  of  all  religious  faiths  and  freedom  of  the  press  were  de- 
clared "  opposed  to  the  spirit  and  maxims  of  the  Catholic  religion." 
In  consequence  of  this  pastoral  judgment  the  Bishop  of  Ghent  was 
proceeded  against  before  the  courts  and,  on  his  retiring  to  Paris, 
was  sentenced  in  contumacy  to  expulsion  from  the  realm.  The 
arrest  and  pimishment  of  other  less  prominent  clericals  soon 
followed. 

The  religious  question  was,  however,  by  no  means  the  sole 
ground  of  difficulty  between  the  two  countries.  From  the  first 
the  Dutch  treated  Belgium  as  a  conquered  province,  and  were  care- 
ful to  secure  for  themselves  the  control  of  all  branches  of  the 
public  service.  Though  the  population  of  Belgium  was  nearly 
three  and  a  half  millions,  while  that  of  Holland  was  but  two 
millions,  both  states  were  equally  represented  in  the  popular  branch 
of  the  states-general,  which  frequently  rendered  the  decision  of 
important  measures  extremely  difficult  when  the  question  affected 
the  two  countries  in  different  ways.  On  ordinary  matters  the 
government  was  usually  able  to  detach  enough  Belgian  votes  to 
give  it  a  working  majority.  In  the  upper  chamber  the  right  of 
nomination  by  the  king  gave  the  government  an  overwhelming 
majority.  Still  worse  was  the  situation  of  the  Belgians  in  the 
army  and  the  official  world,  for,  in  spite  of  the  provisions  of  the 
constitution  for  equal  representation,  almost  all  the  chief  officials 
were  Hollanders.  In  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  in  1830  of  117 
officials  only  11  were  Belgians;  in  the  Ministry  of  War  of  102 
officials  only  3  were  natives  of  the  southern  provinces.  Finally, 
out  of  the  1967  commissioned  officers  in  the  army,  but  288  were  of 
Belgian  birth.  All  the  public  establishments,  the  national  banks, 
the  highest  courts,  the  military  schools,  were  in  Holland.  It 
seemed  indeed  as  if  the  efforts  of  the  government  were  directed 
toward  assimilating  the  Belgians  with  the  Dutch.  Since  1819  all 
public  officials  were  required  to  know  the  Dutch  language,  which 
was  made  the  official  language  of  the  courts  and  bureaucracy,  al- 
though French  had  hitherto  been  prevalent  in  the  southern  prov- 
inces.    The  government,  too,  endeavored  in  every  way  to  suppress 


294  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1815-1830 

all  expressions  of  discontent  in  Belgium.  The  obnoxious  censor- 
ship laws  were  restored  and  recalcitrant  journalists  were  sum- 
moned before  the  tribunals.  Finally  the  economic  policy  of  the 
state  seemed  wholly  dictated  by  the  interests  of  the  northern 
provinces,  for  the  commerce  of  Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam  was 
favored  by  a  low  tariff  system  at  the  exense  of  the  manufacturing 
interests  of  Brussels  and  Antwerp. 

The  Belgians  had  to  share  in  the  burden  of  the  heavy 
Dutch  debt  and  to  pay  new  and  unpopular  taxes  on  land  and 
food,  which  bore  most  heavily  on  the  industrial  and  agricul- 
tural classes  of  the  south.  Yet  in  spite  of  the  economic  policy  of 
the  government  the  Belgian  provinces  prospered  greatly  during  this 
period.  The  mineral  wealth  of  the  country  was  largely  exploited. 
Iron  manufactures  sprang  up  at  Liege  and  woolen  manufactures 
at  Verviers,  while  the  cotton  goods  of  Ghent  rivaled  those  of 
Manchester.  The  reopening  of  the  Scheldt,  closed  to  the  Belgians 
for  250  years,  raised  Antwerp  again  to  a  port  of  the  first  rank, 
while  the  foreign  and  colonial  trade  gave  new  markets  for  Belgian 
products.  Nor  were  the  northern  provinces  less  prosperous.  The 
restoration  to  the  Netherlands  in  181 5  of  her  colonial  empire  in 
the  East  Indies  had  given  impulse  to  the  general  revival  of  com- 
mercial activity  which  had  been  so  long  suspended.  In  general, 
the  Netherlands  were  prospering  more  than  they  had  for  many 
years. 

The  internal  prosperity  of  the  kingdom  had,  however,  little 
effect  in  allaying  the  growing  hostility  of  the  Belgians  to  their 
northern  neighbors.  While  the  Belgian  liberals  were  demanding 
the  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  press  laws  and  reform  of  the  taxes, 
the  clerical  party  found  new  ground  for  complaint  against  the 
government  in  the  education  question.  The  public  education  in 
Belgium  was  almost  wholly  in  the  hands  of  religious  orders  whose 
members  were  often  educated  abroad  and  strongly  suspected  of 
being  affiliated  with  the  proscribed  Jesuits.  With  a  view  of  securing 
greater  control  over  education,  the  government  forbade  any 
schools  to  be  opened  without  its  consent,  and  required  that  every 
priest,  before  his  induction  into  orders,  should  spend  at  least  two 
years  at  the  new  government  college  at  Louvain,  where  many  of 
the  professors  were  Protestants.  Moreover,  it  was  decreed  that 
no  Belgian  educated  abroad  could  hold  any  office,  civil  or  religious, 
in  the  state. 


THE     BELGIAN     REVOLUTION  296 

1815-1830 

These  acts  of  the  government  aroused  the  most  intense  oppo- 
sition on  the  part  of  the  Cathohc  party,  and  the  Belgian  hberals, 
who  had  at  first  supported  the  government  consistently,  soon  made 
secret  cause  with  the  clericals.  In  1828  a  formal  alliance  of  the 
two  parties  was  made  in  the  so-called  constitutional  association — 
the  liberals  demanding  freedom  of  the  press,  the  clericals  freedom 
of  education. 

The  year  1830  opened  with  the  tension  between  the  Belgians 
and  the  government  strained  to  the  uttermost.  The  banishment 
of  the  revolutionary  leader  of  the  liberals,  Louis  de  Potter,  the 
removal  from  office  of  many  Belgians  who  had  incurred  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Dutch  government,  and  other  arbitrary  acts  had 
almost  completed  the  breach  between  the  two  countries.  In  Brus- 
sels especially  the  discontent  was  most  widespread.  Brussels  had 
become  a  city  of  refuge  for  the  discontented  of  all  Europe.  A 
violent  press  teeming  with  libels  and  inflammatory  statements  kept 
the  people  in  a  constant  state  of  political  excitment.  Only  a  spark 
was  needed  to  set  the  city  on  fire,  and  this  came  with  the  sensa- 
tional news  of  the  revolution  of  July  in  France,  which  expelled 
the  Bourbons  from  the  throne. 

Through  the  first  weeks  in  August  the  city  became  more  and 
more  excited.  So  great  was  the  unrest  that  the  officials  dared  not 
allow  the  celebration  of  the  king's  birthday,  August  24,  for  already 
ominous  placards  bearing  the  significant  warning,  "  Monday,  fire- 
works ;  Tuesday,  illumination ;  Wednesday,  revolution ! "  had  ap- 
peared. On  the  25th,  just  a  month  after  the  revolution  in  Paris, 
a  play  of  inflammatory  nature,  called  "  La  Muette,"  was  performed 
in  the  theater.  At  the  close  of  the  performance  the  excited  people 
rushed  into  the  street  shouting  "Let  us  imitate  the  Parisians." 
The  streets  were  soon  filled  with  the  mob,  which  broke  into  the 
arsenal  and  the  shops  in  search  of  weapons,  destroyed  The  Na- 
tional, a  pro-Dutch  newspaper,  and  burned  to  the  ground  the 
house  of  Van  Maanen,  the  hated  Minister  of  Justice.  The  few 
troops  in  the  city  made  no  effective  attempt  to  disperse  the  rioters 
and  withdrew  to  the  Place  Royal.  The  mob  proceeded  to  burn 
and  pillage  at  will,  till  a  burgher  guard  from  the  better  classes 
succeeded,  after  some  bloodshed,  in  restoring  order.  Once  armed, 
however,  the  burghers  determined  not  to  relinquish  their  ad- 
vantage till  the  government  had  made  them  some  concessions. 

A  bill  of  rights  demanding  the  removal  of  the  obnoxious  Van 


296  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1815-1830 

Maanen,  the  strict  observance  of  the  constitution,  and  the  with- 
drawal of  the  oppressive  edicts,  was  drawn  up  and  dispatched  to 
the  king,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  take  temporary  charge 
of  the  movement.  On  the  28th  800  Dutch  troops  from  Antwerp 
appeared  before  the  city,  but  were  refused  entrance  by  the  burgher 
g^ard  on  the  ground  that  it  would  only  renew  the  disorders.  The 
Dutch  generals  hesitated  where  prompt  action  was  necessary,  and 
the  city  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  revolutionists. 

The  rising  in  Brussels  was  promptly  imitated  throughout 
the  Belgian  provinces.  Liege  hoisted  her  city  colors  and  sent 
deputies  to  Brussels  to  demand  the  calling  of  the  states-general. 
Her  example  was  followed  by  the  other  cities  of  the  south,  until 
only  Antwerp  and  Ghent  remained  true  to  the  government.  King 
William  was  now  thoroughly  alarmed  at  the  extent  of  the  move- 
ment. He  accepted  the  resignation  of  the  unpopular  Van  Maanen, 
and  sent  his  sons,  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  Prince  Frederick,  to 
Brussels  to  negotiate  with  the  people  after  order  was  restored. 
But  the  pretensions  of  the  Belgians  had  already  increased,  and  they 
now  demanded  an  absolute  separation  of  Belgium  from  Holland, 
with  the  king  as  the  only  link  between  the  two  countries.  On 
September  13  the  estates  of  the  Netherlands  met  in  extra  session 
to  consider  the  crisis.  But  a  deadlock  soon  developed,  for  the 
Belgian  deputies,  in  spite  of  a  conciliatory  speech  on  the  part  of 
the  king,  refused  to  consider  any  settlement  until  the  withdrawal 
of  all  Dutch  troops  from  Belgium. 

Meantime  the  situation  at  Brussels  grew  more  and  more  criti- 
cal. The  populace,  recruited  by  crowds  of  artisans  thrown  out  of 
work,  and  by  additions  from  the  surrounding  country,  grew  im- 
patient of  the  control  of  the  burgher  guard.  On  September  19  a 
new  outbreak  occurred.  Crowds  surrounded  the  town-hall,  where 
the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  sat,  crying  "  Vive  la  liberie ! "  and 
demanding  arms.  On  the  refusal  of  the  committee  to  grant  their 
demands,  the  mob  overpowered  the  burgher  guard  and  seized  the 
town-hall,  where  the  arms  were  kept.  The  Committee  of  Safety 
was  dissolved  and  a  new  provisional  government,  headed  by  Louis 
de  Potter,  took  its  place.  On  hearing  the  news  of  these  fresh 
disorders.  Prince  Frederick,  who  commanded  the  Dutch  troops  at 
Antwerp,  determined  to  advance  on  Brussels  and  suppress  the 
revolution  with  one  blow.  At  the  report  of  the  advance  of  the 
Dutch  the  best  citizens  retired  in  consternation  to  their  houses,  but 


THE     BELGIAN     REVOLUTION  297 

1815-1830 

the  mass  of  the  people,  inspired  by  able  leaders,  determined  to  resist 
to  the  uttermost.  Barricades  were  thrown  up  in  the  chief  streets, 
and  stones  and  all  sorts  of  missiles  collected  on  the  housetops,  which 
were  lined  with  armed  men.  On  September  23  the  Dutch  troops 
advanced  in  six  columns  against  six  of  the  city  gates,  which  were 
soon  cleared  with  cannon  shot.  But  on  penetrating  the  city 
the  troops  were  met  everywhere  by  barricades  and  exposed  to  a 
constant  fire  from  the  housetops.  For  two  days  a  fierce  conflict 
raged  in  the  streets  between  the  troops  and  the  people,  who  were 
constantly  reinforced  by  recruits  who  poured  in  from  all  sides.  On 
the  27th  Prince  Frederick  abandoned  the  attack  and  withdrew 
toward  Antwerp. 

The  successful  defense  of  Brussels,  with  its  challenge  of  open 
war,  produced  the  utmost  excitement  throughout  Belgium,  though 
the  Dutch  people  still  remained  indifferent.  It  was  in  vain,  now, 
that  the  states-general  voted  for  a  separation  of  the  two  countries 
and  left  it  in  the  hands  of  the  king  to  set  up  a  new  administration 
and  secure  the  throne  for  his  family.  The  recent  fighting  had  de- 
termined the  Belgian  leaders  to  reject  the  house  of  Orange,  and 
the  provisional  government  declined  to  treat  with  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  whom  King  William  had  appointed  his  deputy.  Almost 
all  Belgium  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  revolutionists.  At  Liege 
the  Dutch  troops  were  allowed  to  march  out  unmolested,  Ghent 
came  over  to  the  popular  party  October  18,  and  soon  only  the 
fortresses  of  Antwerp,  Maastricht,  and  Luxemburg  remained  in 
the  hands  of  the  Dutch. 

The  provisional  government,  now  headed  by  such  eminent 
men  as  M.  Van  de  Weyer,  Gerlache,  De  Chokier  and  the  Duke  of 
Aerschot,  apparently  secure  in  power,  took  the  final  steps  for  the 
consolidation  of  the  new  state.  New  proposals  from  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  who  without  his  father's  knowledge  offered  himself  as 
head  of  the  Belgians,  were  rejected,  Luxemburg,  though  part  of 
the  German  confederation,  was  declared  to  be  united  to  Belgium. 
A  national  congress  was  called  to  draw  up  a  constitution,  and  steps 
were  taken  to  expel  the  royal  troops  from  their  remaining  strong- 
holds on  Belgian  soil.  On  October  25  the  Belgians  carried  the 
suburbs  of  Antwerp  after  a  severe  struggle,  and,  aided  by  the 
citizens,  took  possession  of  the  town  while  the  Dutch  garrison 
under  General  Chasse  retired  to  the  powerful  citadel  whose  guns 
commanded  the  city.      An  armistice  was  arranged  between  the 


298  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1815-1830 

insurgents  and  the  troops,  but  was  soon  broken  by  the  former, 
who  attempted  to  storm  the  arsenal.  In  reply  to  this  act  of  treach- 
ery the  citadel  and  the  Dutch  frigates  in  the  river  opened  fire  on  the 
town  with  red-hot  shot,  and  when  Antwerp  seemed  threatened 
with  total  destruction  the  insurgents  consented  to  withdraw  from 
the  town  into  the  suburbs. 

The  successful  rising  of  the  Belgian  provinces,  following  so 
closely  on  the  heels  of  the  revolution  of  July  in  France,  came  as  a 
distinct  shock  to  the  legitimist  governments  of  Europe,  who  saw 
the  system  so  carefully  established  in  1815  already  beginning  to 
crumble.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  of  Russia  was  particularly  anx- 
ious to  support  Holland,  and  put  50,000  troops  under  arms,  while  a 
strong  party  at  Berlin  favored  the  suppression  of  the  revolt  by 
Prussian  troops.  On  the  other  hand,  the  new  French  government  of 
Louis  Philippe  was  ready  to  support  Belgium  by  all  means  in  its 
power.  In  England  conservative  principles  of  legitimacy  and  the 
strong  Protestant  feeling  were  adverse  to  the  Belgians.  Coupled 
to  these  was  a  strong  suspicion,  scarce  allayed  by  French  as- 
surances, that  the  French  government  would  take  advantage  of  the 
movement  to  renew  its  hold  on  the  Belgian  provinces  and  the  great 
port  of  Antwerp.* 

On  the  other  hand  the  weak  resistance  offered  to  the  revo- 
lution by  the  Dutch  had  made  a  bad  impression,  and  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  then  Premier,  had  in  private  declared  the  retreat  of 
Prince  Frederick  from  Brussels  to  be  a  "  devilish  bad  affair."  So, 
when  in  October  King  William  applied  to  England  for  aid  in 
restoring  him  to  the  throne  guaranteed  to  him  in  181 5,  the  Tory 
ministry  had  declined  and  advised  him  to  accept  the  mediation  of 
the  great  powers,  Austria,  France,  Russia,  Prussia,  and  England. 
Such  an  offer  could  not  be  refused,  and  a  conference  for  the  set- 
tlement of  the  future  of  Belgium  met  at  London  on  November  5. 

Meantime  the  national  convention  called  by  the  Belgian  pro- 
visional government  had  assembled  at  Brussels.  The  republican 
party,  led  by  De  Potter,  which  had  led  the  revolutionary  movement, 
had  by  this  time  lost  strength  through  its  violence,  and  a  conserva- 
tive element,  headed  by  Baron  Nothomb,  the  most  eminent  Belgian 
statesman,  who  declared,  "  as  a  monarchy  you  will  be  a  power,  as 
a  republic  an  anarchy,"  was  in  the  ascendant.    A  constitution  based 

*The  contemporary  British  Tory  view  of  the  revolt  of  Belgium  is  well 
shown  in  the  essay  of  Mr.  Alison,  the  eminent  historian. 


THE     BELGIAN     REVOLUTION  299 

1815-1830 

on  that  of  France  was  drawn  up,  and  the  proposal  to  exclude  the 
house  of  Nassau  was  carried  by  a  great  majority.  The  question 
of  the  disposal  of  the  crown  was,  however,  a  more  difficult  one. 
The  majority  of  the  assembly  favored  the  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg, 
son  of  Eugene  Beauharnais,  but  both  France  and  England  declared 
that  they  would  never  recognize  so  near  a  relative  of  the  great 
Napoleon.  To  these  representations  the  Belgians  yielded  under 
protest.  Next,  as  a  compliment  to  France,  the  assembly  elected 
as  king  the  Due  de  Nemours,  younger  son  of  Louis  Philippe.  But 
France,  though  prepared  to  fight  for  the  integrity  of  Belgium,  was 
not  ready  to  support  a  French  prince  at  Brussels  in  the  face  of 
the  certain  hostility  of  the  rest  of  Europe.  Louis  Philippe,  declar- 
ing that  he  would  not  play  the  part  of  a  Louis  XIV.  or  a  Napoleon, 
refused  to  permit  his  son  to  accept  the  crown.  The  Belgians,  twice 
rebuffed,  now  determined  to  proceed  to  an  election  without  regard 
to  foreign  advice.  The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Prince 
Leopold  of  Saxe-Coburg,  who  had  only  shortly  before  refused  the 
crown  of  Greece.  The  choice  was  a  happy  one.  Leopold,  as 
widower  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  England,  was  closely  con- 
nected with  the  English  royal  family,  and  being,  moreover,  a  Prot- 
estant, his  election  secured  for  the  new  state  the  warm  support  of 
the  English  government.  Born  in  1790,  Prince  Leopold  had 
served  in  the  Russian  army  and  taken  part  in  the  German  War 
of  Liberation  in  1813.  His  military  capacity  was  known,  and  the 
Belgians  were  to  find  that  they  had  also  selected  a  man  of  rare 
political  ability  and  wisdom.  Nevertheless  for  a  time  it  seemed 
as  if  the  Belgians  would  have  to  seek  again  for  a  ruler  of  the 
new  state. 

While  the  Belgians  had  been  seeking  a  prince  the  London 
conference  had  pursued  the  task  of  settling  the  future  of  the  new 
state.  The  result  was  wholly  favorable  to  the  cause  of  Belgium.  At 
the  time  of  the  calling  of  the  conference  the  only  power  at  all  well- 
disposed  to  the  Belgians  was  France.  But  with  the  accession  to 
power  in  England  of  a  liberal  Whig  ministry,  headed  by  Earl 
Grey,  the  Belgians  gained  a  new  ally.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  had 
looked  with  disfavor  on  the  Brussels  revolutionists,  but  the  new 
ministry,  more  sympathetic  with  the  liberal  movement  in  Europe, 
soon  abandoned  the  cause  of  King  William  and  joined  France  in 
supporting  the  partition  of  the  Netherlands.  Thus  abandoned  by 
the  very  power  he  had  appealed  to  for  aid.  King  William  could 


300  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1830-1831 

find  little  support  elsewhere.  The  Polish  Revolution,  which  broke 
out  in  Warsaw  November  29,  occupied  the  whole  attention  of 
the  Emperor  Nicholas,  the  warmest  supporter  of  the  Dutch,  while 
the  German  rulers,  however  well-disposed,  were  too  busy  stamping 
out  the  revolutionary  ideas  which  had  spread  out  from  France,  to 
afford  much  help  to  the  cause  of  legitimacy  in  the  Netherlands. 
The  cause  of  Belgium,  vigorously  supported  by  France  and  Eng- 
land, prevailed.  On  December  20  the  powers  agreed  to  recognize 
the  independence  of  Belgium,  which  was  to  consist  of  those  terri- 
tories which  had  been  added  to  the  Netherlands  by  the  treaty  of 
181 5,  with  the  exception  of  Luxemburg.  At  the  instance  of  Von 
Billow,  the  Prussian  envoy,  the  important  principle  of  the  neutral- 
ization of  the  new  state  was  proclaimed.  Belgium  was  to  assume 
about  one-half  of  the  heavy  national  debt  of  the  Netherlands. 

King  William  had  consented  to  the  London  conference  in  full 
confidence  that  his  authority  over  the  revolted  provinces  would  be 
confirmed.  But  the  sudden  reversal  of  England's  attitude,  and 
the  lack  of  active  support  elsewhere,  soon  opened  his  eyes  to  the 
true  posture  of  affairs.  Bowing  to  the  inevitable,  he  declared 
his  willingness  to  accept  the  terms  proposed  at  London.  Not  so 
the  newly  elected  king  of  the  Belgians.  Leopold  had  already  re- 
fused the  crown  of  Greece  because  its  boundaries  were  too  narrow. 
In  the  same  spirit  he  now  declined  to  accept  the  proposed  treaty 
unless  both  Luxemburg  and  Limburg  were  included  in  the  new  state. 
This  resolute  stand  was  entirely  successful.  The  London  conference, 
at  the  instance  of  Leopold's  warm  supporters,  England  and  France, 
consented  to  reopen  the  whole  question,  and  a  new  protocol  was 
drawn  up  assigning  to  Belgium  both  Luxemburg  and  Limburg, 
neither  of  which  had  ever  been  a  part  of  the  Belgian  provinces. 
His  point  thus  gained,  Leopold  accepted  the  crown,  and,  entering 
Belgium  by  way  of  Calais,  proceeded  amid  the  greatest  enthusiasm 
to  Brussels,  where  he  was  solemnly  crowned  July  21,  1831. 
Scarcely  were  the  coronation  festivities  over  when  the  new  king 
found  himself  face  to  face  with  an  attack  which  threatened  the 
very  existence  of  the  state. 

To  King  William  the  new  convention  of  London  seemed  but 
a  new  breach  of  faith  on  the  part  of  his  quondam  allies,  and  he 
resolutely  refused  to  accept  any  but  the  old  terms.  The  Dutch 
people,  too,  hitherto  remarkably  indifferent  to  the  course  of  events, 
were  aroused  to  intense  irritation  at  the  triumphal  progress  of 


THE     BELGIAN     REVOLUTION  801 

1831-1832 

Leopold  through  the  Belgian  cities.  On  August  4  war  was  de- 
clared, and  70,000  Dutch  troops  under  the  Prince  of  Orange  crossed 
the  border.  The  utter  weakness  of  the  new  state  before  any  vigor- 
ous assault  instantly  became  patent.  Antwerp  fell  into  Dutch 
hands  without  resistance.  A  Belgian  force,  which  was  character- 
ized by  one  of  its  own  leaders  as  nothing  but  an  armed  mob,  was 
seized  with  a  panic  at  Hasselt  and  fled  without  striking  a  blow. 
King  Leopold  himself  was  defeated  in  an  engagement  near  Lou- 
vain,  and  the  way  to  Brussels  lay  open  to  the  Dutch  army.  But 
again  England  and  France  intervened  on  behalf  of  their  protege. 
A  French  army  50,000  strong  crossed  the  frontier,  and  at  the  de- 
mand of  the  two  powers  the  Dutch  army  was  forced  to  withdraw 
into  Holland.  Belgium  was  saved,  but,  as  its  own  historians 
confess,  without  honor.  Leopold  long  after  declared  that  the 
very  thought  of  the  campaign  caused  him  the  most  intense  pain.' 
The  presence  of  the  French  army  in  Belgium  seemed  scarcely  less 
of  a  threat  to  the  new  state  than  the  Dutch  invasion.  Already 
while  the  French  minister,  Casimir  Perier,  was  proclaiming  the 
integrity  of  Belgium  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  that  prince  of 
intriguers,  Talleyrand,  was  proposing  in  London  the  partition  of 
the  provinces  between  France,  Prussia,  and  Holland.  But  the  Eng- 
lish ministry  took  alarm,  and  at  their  demand  the  French  troops 
withdrew  from  the  country  after  King  William's  consent  to  an 
armistice  had  been  obtained. 

The  campaign  of  the  Dutch  had  not  been  wholly  in  vain.  It 
had  shown  the  powers  the  confusion  and  weakness  of  the  Belgian 
state,  and  it  secured  correspondingly  better  terms  for  Holland.  On 
October  15  the  London  conference  drew  up  the  third  and  last 
instrument  for  the  separation  of  Holland  and  Belgium,  and  declared 
it  to  be  irrevocable.  This  final  adjustment  provided  for  the  neu- 
tralization of  Belgium,  the  return  to  Holland  of  the  great  fortress 
of  Maastricht  and  the  German  parts  of  Luxemburg  and  Limburg, 
the  assumption  by  Belgium  of  half  the  debt  of  the  extinct  kingdom 
of  the  Netherlands,  and  the  opening  of  the  Scheldt  to  Belgian 
commerce.  The  Belgians,  however  discontented,  were  prompt 
to  accept  this  final  agreement  All  that  remained  was  to 
gain  the  adhesion  of  King  William,  and  this  he  steadily  refused  to 
give.  Whatever  else  they  might  concede,  national  pride  and  com- 
mercial interest  combined  to  make  the  Dutch  most  unwilling  to 
give  up  the  control  of  the  Scheldt,  held  by  them  since  the  great 
'^"Leopold  I.  et  Leopold  II.,"  Th.  Juste,  Brussels,  1879. 


sas 


HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 


1832 


War  of  Independence.    Antwerp  was  still  in  their  hands,  and  King 
William  steadily  refused  to  command  its  evacuation. 

In  the  face  of  this  stubborn  attitude  the  powers  were  slow 
to  act.  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  though  they  had  guaranteed 
the  treaty,  refused  to  coerce  the  King  of  Holland,  and  at  the  same 
time  declined  to  enter  into  diplomatic  relations  with  the  Belgian 
state.     England  and  France  moved  but  slowly,  and  not  till  King 


HOLLAND  AND 
BELGIUM 


SOUTH    i'UTRECHT")  ^ 


y 


>•  Antwerp  *—^  f  •       l 

JFLANOEBS".,  /'    '> ,-.      '  '      ^ 

■\      'JST'      K^       ^:>       Brussels'--;  ^^ 

s  '^:-f\ ^4^ 

/  f NAM  u  n.  r     ?         r 
V  \ 


Leopold,  now  become  son-in-law  of  the  French  monarch,  had  de- 
clared his  intention  of  renewing  the  war  did  they  decide  to  force 
King  William  to  terms.  On  November  4,  1832,  two  years  after 
the  declaration  of  Belgian  independence,  an  Anglo-French  fleet 
blockaded  the  coast  of  Holland  and  a  French  army  of  56,000  men 
under  Marshal  Gerard  advanced  to  expel  the  Dutch  garrison  of 
Antwerp.  The  citadel  of  Antwerp,  rebuilt  at  the  order  of  Na- 
poleon  when   he*  had   dreamed    of   making   Antwerp   the  ^reat 


THE     BELGIAN     REVOLUTION  803 

1882 

est  naval  port  in  Europe,  was  still  regarded  as  one  of  the 
strongest  on  the  Continent,  and  was  defended  by  the  able 
General  Chasse,  with  5000  men.  On  November  30  the  besieging 
army  arrived  before  the  fortress  and  demanded  its  surrender. 
Though  Chasse  had  been  assured  that  he  could  receive  no  aid 
from  Holland,  he  determined  to  resist,  and  promptly  refused  the 
summons.  By  mutual  agreement  the  town  of  Antwerp  was  declared 
neutral,  and  accordingly  the  French  opened  their  trenches  on  the 
further  side  of  the  citadel.  On  December  4  the  siege  guns  were 
in  position,  and  a  tremendous  fire  was  opened  on  the  fortress. 
Under  the  bombardment  the  walls  crumbled  away,  but  the  gar- 
rison held  out  till  December  2^,  when  General  Chasse,  finding 
his  bomb-proofs  demolished,  consented  to  surrender.  During  the 
siege  the  French  had  opened  over  nine  miles 'Of  trenches  and  fired 
63,000  cannon-balls.  The  siege  of  Antwerp,  which  closed  the 
drama  of  the  Belgian  revolution,  was  certainly  one  of  the  most 
peculiar  of  modern  times.  Fought  by  troops  of  two ,  countries 
which  were  not  at  war  with  each  other,  who  had  no  national  ani- 
mosity toward  each  other,  it  was  conducted  with  as  much  humanity 
and  respect  for  the  safety  of  non-combatants  as  possible.  In  fact, 
it  was  conducted  as  a  purely  professional  piece  of  work  with  as 
little  loss  of  life  as  was  possible.  Compared  with  such  a  siege  as 
that  of  Sebastopol,  twenty  years  later,  it  seems  indeed  a  very  mim- 
icry of  war  and  thoroughly  characteristic  of  the  reign  of  the  peace- 
loving  bourgeoise  king  of  France.  With  the  fall  of  Antwerp  the 
final  stage  in  the  establishment  of  Belgium  as  an  independent  state 
was  reached.  King  William,  however,  still  refused  to  accept  the 
terms  of  peace,  and  the  Belgians  were  in  no  hurry  to  end  the  trouble 
with  Holland,  for  not  till  the  treaty  was  signed  would  Belgium  have 
to  take  up  her  share  in  the  heavy  Netherlands  debt.  Thus  it  hap- 
pened that  seven  years  passed  before  the  formalities  of  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  Netherlands  were  finally  settled.  By  that  time  Bel- 
gium had  proved  by  its  progress  under  a  wise  and  able  ruler  an 
unchallengeable  right  to  a  place  among  independent  Europe 
states. 


Chapter  XXV 

BELGIUM  AS  AN  INDEPENDENT  KINGDOM.     1830-1910 

THE  history  of  Belgium  since  1830  is  bound  up  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  reigns  of  her  two  remarkable  sovereigns, 
Leopold  I.  and  Leopold  II.  The  period  has  been  marked 
with  little  stirring  event,  and  Belgium's  victories  in  the  last  half- 
century  have  fortunately  been  those  of  peace  and  progress.  Though 
her  kings  have  won  for  themselves  by  strength  of  sheer  ability  a 
prominent  place  in  European  affairs,  the  true  interest  in  the  life 
of  the  new  Belgium  has  lain  in  its  complex  internal  development, 
economic,  social,  and  political.  Freed  at  last  from  participation  in 
the  politics  of  Europe,  protected  by  its  international  neutrality,  and 
no  longer  bearing  the  unenviable  distinction  of  being  the  "  battle- 
ground of  Europe,"  Belgium  has  once  more  assumed  much  the 
same  position  that  the  counties  of  Flanders  and  Brabant  held  five 
hundred  years  ago.  It  is  once  again  the  busiest  and  most  thickly 
populated  part  of  Europe,  and,  thanks  to  its  swarming  population, 
its  vast  industries,  its  commercial  and  colonial  enterprise,  is  to-day 
one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  prosperous  of  states.  In  it  the 
political,  economic,  and  social  movements  of  the  era  have  been  most 
quickly  developed  and  their  tendencies  most  clearly  expressed. 
Situated,  as  Belgium  is,  between  three  of  the  leading  nations  of 
Europe,  and  facing  a  fourth  across  a  narrow  strip  of  sea,  the  little 
state  has  with  truth  been  called  the  microcosm  of  Europe  where  the 
new  problems  of  a  new  age  are  being  worked  out  to  their  solution. 
The  Belgians  had  builded  even  better  than  they  knew  in  the 
choice  of  Leopold  of  Saxe-Coburg  as  king.  The  rare  tact  and 
wisdom  with  which  he  guided  the  state  during  the  first  troubled 
years  of  his  reign  won  for  him  the  love  of  his  subjects  and  the 
respect  of  all  men.  Lacking,  perhaps,  the  intellectual  powers  and 
wideness  of  vision  of  a  great  statesman,  his  tact  and  the  upright- 
ness of  his  character  made  him  the  trusted  advisor  of  many  Euro- 
pean sovereigns.  His  close  relationship  with  several  ruling  families, 
and  his  vast  experience,  for  he  was  in  correspondence  with  all  the 


BELGIUM      INDEPENDENT  306 

1890-18S9 

great  men  of  his  time,  from  Alexander  I.  of  Russia  to  Napoleon 
III.,  gave  him  a  peculiarly  influential  position  in  European  af- 
fairs out  of  all  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  state  which  he 
governed.  The  trusted  counselor  and  friend  of  his  niece,  Queen 
Victoria,  England  owes  much  of  the  glory  of  her  reign  to  the 
wisdom  and  common  sense  of  the  Belgian  king.  In  truth,  Leopold's 
proud  titles  of  the  Nestor  and  the  Peacemaker  of  Europe  were  no 
idle  ones.  Nor  was  his  influence  confined  to  Europe  alone.  The 
United  States  called  on  him  to  arbitrate  in  a  dispute  with  Spain  and 
sought  his  advice  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  War.  In  1863  Mr. 
Seward,  the  Secretary  of  State,  wrote  to  the  American  minister  at 
Brussels :  "  The  king  will  see  that  it  is  not  in  the  power  of 
the  slaveholders  to  dictate  conditions,  but  it  is  to  their  interest 
to  propose  a  compromise.  I  am  authorized  by  the  President  to 
submit  this  idea  to  the  King  of  the  Belgians.  In  performing  this 
duty  I  cannot  omit  adding  that  the  king  by  his  generous  and  dis- 
interested attitude  toward  the  United  States  has  acquired  the  right 
to  give  advice  to  our  government,  and  his  advice  has  always  been 
received  with  respectful  affection  and  recognizance."  Leopold  was 
one  of  the  first  European  sovereigns  to  fully  appreciate  the  true 
position  of  a  constitutional  ruler — a  delicate  one  at  any  time. 
As  King  of  Belgium,  whose  independence  he  had  been  the  first  to 
make  secure,  he,  with  the  aid  of  such  worthy  assistants  as  Gerlache, 
Nothomb,  and  Van  der  Werder,  raised  the  little  kingdom  to  the 
rank  of  a  model  state. 

The  first  years  of  the  king's  reig^  were  eventful  only  in  the 
rapid  strides  toward  prosperity  which  the  new  kingdom  was  mak- 
ing. In  the  face  of  the  ever-threatening  attitude  of  Holland,  with 
whom  no  peace  had  yet  been  made,  the  country  remained  a  unit, 
undisturbed  by  the  factions  of  political  parties.  To  be  sure,  a 
small  Orangist  faction  still  remained,  but  finally  disappeared  when 
the  birth  of  an  heir  to  the  throne  in  1835  consolidated  the  succes- 
sion of  the  dynasty.  In  the  rapid  development  of  the  commerce 
and  industries  of  Belgium  the  state  took  a  prominent  part.  The 
first  railroad  in  Europe  was  opened  in  1834  by  King  Leopold  in 
person. 

In  1839  the  final  act  of  the  Belgian  revolution  was  con- 
summated. King  William,  of  Holland,  after  seven  years  of 
obduracy,  now  announced  his  readiness  to  conclude  peace  with 
Belgium  on  the  terms  provided  for  by  the  London  Conference. 


306  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1830-1848 

Though  the  position  of  Belgium  had  for  the  past  few  years  been 
a  somewhat  anomalous  one,  for  some  of  the  powers  still  declined  to 
regard  her  as  an  independent  state,  nevertheless  the  Belgians 
viewed  the  conclusion  of  a  general  peace  with  little  favor.  To  them 
it  meant  the  surrender  to  Holland  of  the  provinces  of  Luxemburg 
and  Limburg,  which  now  seemed  to  be  integral  parts  of  the  state. 
So  it  happened  that  the  demand  for  the  surrender  of  these  prov- 
inces provoked  the  greatest  excitement  and  indignation.  The  leg- 
islature passed  a  vote  urging  the  king  to  preserve  the  integrity  of 
the  country  at  all  costs,  and  the  army  was  placed  on  a  war  footing. 
Leopold  himself  was  not  averse  to  a  new  campaign  which  would 
consolidate  the  country  and  wipe  out  the  still  rankling  disgrace  of 
183 1.  But  in  the  face  of  the  determined  attitude  of  both  France 
and  England,  who  insisted  on  a  rigid  adherence  to  treaty  obliga- 
tions, he  saw  that  resistance  was  hopeless,  and  reluctantly  con- 
sented to  the  surrender  of  the  disputed  provinces  to  Holland.  The 
Belgian  revolution  had  owed  much  of  its  success  to  the  coalition 
between  the  liberal  and  clerical  elements  of  the  population,  which 
had  remained  hitherto  unbroken.  Now  the  signature  of  the  treaty 
of  peace  removed  the  last  threat  to  national  independence,  and  the 
revival  of  political  parties.  Liberals  and  Clericals,  inevitably  began. 
It  was,  perhaps,  fortunate  for  Belgium  that  a  strong  liberal  gov- 
ernment was  in  power  at  the  time,  when,  in  1848,  the  storms  of 
revolution  again  swept  Europe.  The  rising  of  1830  in  France 
had  provoked  a  similar  one  in  Belgium.  But  the  republican  move- 
ment of  1848  met  with  but  little  sympathy  in  Belgium,  where 
loyalty  to  the  sovereign  had  become  a  most  profound  feeling. 
Almost  alone  in  Europe,  Belgium  remained  calm  during  the  con- 
vulsions which  shook  the  strongest  thrones  to  their  foundations.  A 
few  hundred  adventurers,  principally  republicans  from  Paris, 
sought  to  raise  the  standard  of  revolt  near  Quivrain,  but  were  soon 
surrounded  by  troops  and  bands  of  armed  peasants  and  forced  to 
surrender.  This  fiasco  was  only  the  signal  for  an  outburst  of 
loyalty  to  the  king  which  was  certainly  a  rare  spectacle  in  Europe 
at  that  time. 

The  French  Revolution  of  1848  had  one  result,  however, 
which  threatened  to  have  a  vital  influence  in  the  future  of  Belgium. 
The  dethroned  house  of  Orleans  had  been  the  chief  friend  and 
support  of  the  Belgian  kingdom,  and  as  long  as  Leopold's  father- 
in-law,  Louis   Philippe,   reigned   Belgium  had   nothing  to   dread 


BELGIUM      INDEPENDENT  «07 

1848-1865 

from  French  ambitions.  With  the  establishment  of  a  militant 
republic  in  France,  and  with  the  accession  to  power  of  Louis 
Napoleon,  the  nephew  of  the  great  conqueror,  the  situation  was 
radically  changed.  Louis  Napoleon  had  come  to  revive  the  old 
traditions  of  the  first  empire,  of  which  Belgium  had  been  a  prov- 
ince, and  he  openly  declared  his  lifework  to  be  the  restoration  of 
France  to  her  old  preeminence  in  Europe.  Such  a  political  pro- 
gramme could  not  but  seem  a  menace  to  Belgian  independence,  and 
for  twenty  years  Belgian  statesmen  were  haunted  by  the  specter 
of  a  possible  French  invasion.  The  violent  attacks  on  the  French 
emperor  in  the  virulent  Brussels  press,  edited  by  political  refugees 
and  subject  to  little  restraint,  offered  a  convenient  pretext  for  war. 
Indeed,  Napoleon  seems  to  have  contemplated  the  conquest  of  Bel- 
gium as  early  as  1853,  but  abandoned  the  plan  on  being  convinced 
that  all  Europe  would  resist  such  an  outrage.  King  Leopold  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  personally  friendly  relations  with  Napoleon, 
while  on  the  other  side,  a  meeting  at  Liege  between  the  kings  of 
Belgium  and  Holland,  resulted  in  a  healing  of  the  wide  breach  be- 
tween the  two  neighbors. 

The  Belgians  were  indirectly  interested  in  the  ill-fated  Mex- 
ican expedition  of  Louis  Napoleon,  for  the  king's  daughter,  Char- 
lotte, was  the  wife  of  the  Archduke  Maximilian,  on  whom  the 
Mexican  crown  had  been  conferred  by  Napoleon.  Knowledge  of 
the  tragic  close  of  the  enterprise,  with  the  capture  and  execution  of 
Maximilian  by  the  Mexicans,  and  the  subsequent  insanity  of  his 
wife,  was  spared  to  King  Leopold,  who  had  feared  its  failure  from 
the  first.  The  king  died  in  1865,  after  a  long  and  prosperous 
reign  of  thirty-four  years.  Few  rulers  have  deserved  as  justly  as 
he  the  title  of  the  "  Father  of  his  People,"  affectionately  conferred 
on  him  by  the  Belgians. 

Leopold  II.,  the  next  king  of  Belgium,  ascended  the  throne 
at  a  time  when  a  series  of  most  dramatic  events  was  impending, 
destined  to  change  the  map  of  Europe.  The  first  five  years  of  his 
reign  witnessed  the  break-up  of  the  old  Germanic  confederation, 
the  establishment  of  two  new  European  powers,  the  German  em- 
pire and  a  united  Italy,  and  the  sudden  destruction  of  the  second 
French  empire.  The  period  was  a  most  critical  one  for  Belgium. 
Amid  the  startling  events  which  were  rapidly  changing  the  face  of 
Europe,  the  smaller  continental  states  could  not  but  tremble  for 
their  own  existence. 


808  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1866 

The  sudden  and  unexpected  success  of  Prussia  over  Austria  in 
1866,  and  the  consequent  aggrandizement  of  the  victors  by  the 
annexation  of  most  of  the  small  states  of  northern  Germany,  led 
Napoleon  IIL  to  demand  some  territorial  compensation  for  France 
as  a  reward  of  his  neutrality.  But  in  Count  Bismarck,  the  Prus- 
sian minister,  who  was  fast  becoming  the  dominant  political  figure 
in  Europe,  Napoleon  met  a  man  more  than  his  match  in  the  wiles 
of  diplomacy.  Bismarck  had  no  intention  of  permitting  the  en- 
largement of  the  French  empire,  in  which  he  saw  the  one  great 
opponent  to  German  unity;  but  he  was  willing  for  the  time  to 
amuse  Napoleon  with  empty  negotiations.  At  first  the  French 
emperor  demanded  the  cession  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  as  far 
as  the  city  of  Mainz,  but  this  was  met  by  the  declaration  that 
Prussia  could  not  consent  to  the  alienation  of  German  ground. 
A  new  plan  was  now  proposed.  France  and  Prussia  were  to  enter 
into  a  secret  alliance,  offensive  as  well  as  defensive.  Prussia  was 
to  have  a  free  hand  in  Germany,  while  France  was  to  annex  the 
little  duchy  of  Luxemburg,  and  at  the  proper  moment  was  to  be 
permitted  to  seize  upon  the  kingdom  of  Belgium  itself.  In  the 
course  of  the  discussion  of  this  nefarious  plan  the  French  am- 
bassadors fell  blindly  into  a  trap  neatly  set  by  Count  Bismarck. 
At  the  Prussian  minister's  suggestion  he  was  indiscreet  enough  to 
draw  up  in  his  own  hand  the  terms  of  the  proposed  treaty,  and  to 
permit  Bismarck  to  take  possession  of  the  paper.  Armed  with  this 
damning  bit  of  evidence  as  to  French  ambition,  Bismarck  saw  no 
further  advantage  in  continuing  the  negotiations.  Secure  in  the 
support  of  Russia,  which  demanded  nothing,  Bismarck  felt  no 
further  need  of  conciliating  France,  and  the  negotiations  were 
brought  to  an  abrupt  close.  But  the  evidence  of  French  designs 
on  a  neutral  and  friendly  state  was  retained  by  the  Prussian  minis- 
ter, to  be  made  effective  use  of  at  the  proper  moment. 

Napoleon  persevered,  notwithstanding  his  rebuff  from  Prussia, 
and  did  not  abandon  his  hopes  of  territorial  expansion.  Direct 
negotiations  with  Holland  for  the  purchase  of  Luxemburg  failed, 
thanks  again  to  Prussian  interference,  and  the  emperor  turned  once 
more  to  his  long-cherished  scheme  of  the  conquest  of  Belgium.  An 
attempt  to  gain  control  for  France  of  the  Luxemburg  railroad  as 
an  opening  wedge  also  failed,  through  the  vigilance  of  the  Belgian 
government.  But  the  proposed  conquest  of  Belgium  continued  to 
be  a  subject  of  common  talk  in  Parisian  official  circles,  and  Marshal 


BELGIUM       INDEPENDENT  809 

1886-1906 

Niel,  the  French  chief  of  engineers,  had  already  made  an  official 
inspection  of  the  frontiers.  The  outbreak  of  the  Franco-Prussian 
war  finally  put  an  end  to  these  threats  against  Belgian  independ- 
ence. On  the  eve  of  the  war  Napoleon,  in  a  letter  to  King  Leo- 
pold, declared  his  intention  of  respecting  the  neutrality  of  Bel- 
gium. A  few  days  later  the  London  Times  published  the  text  of 
the  proposed  treaty  of  1866,  which  had  been  furnished  by  Prince 
Bismarck.  This  revelation,  coming  as  sudden  and  unexpected  as  a 
bolt  out  of  a  clear  sky,  caused  the  most  tremendous  sensation,  es- 
pecially in  England  and  Belgium.  In  Belgium  the  army  was 
promptly  placed  on  a  war  footing.  In  England  the  government 
demanded  of  Parliament  a  supplementary  credit  and  an  addition 
of  20,000  men  to  the  forces.  Nor  was  the  British  government 
content  with  these  preparations.  A  treaty  was  drawn  up,  which 
was  promptly  signed  by  both  France  and  Prussia,  providing  that 
Great  Britain  should  declare  war  on  the  first  of  the  belligerents 
who  should  violate  Belgian  territory.  In  Belgium  the  result  of  the 
disclosure  was  to  throw  public  opinion  to  the  side  of  Germany, 
though  French  sympathizers  were  numerous  and  active,  especially 
in  the  journals. 

As  the  tide  of  war  rolled  toward  the  Belgian  frontier  the 
anxiety  became  intense,  and  the  whole  Belgian  army  was  drawn 
up  on  the  frontier.  But  no  serious  results  followed.  After  the 
fall  of  Sedan  several  thousand  French  troops  fled  across  the  fron- 
tier, but  peacefully  laid  down  their  arms,  according  to  convention, 
and  remained  interned  in  Belgium  during  the  rest  of  the  war. 

Since  the  war  of  1870  Belgium  has  been  free  from  participa- 
tion in  European  politics,  and  her  history  has  been  a  quiet  one. 
Internally  the  reign  of  Leopold  II.  has  been  signalized  by  steady 
progress  in  industry  and  wealth,  and  less  happily  by  a  marked 
development  of  a  more  and  more  bitter  party  spirit.  The  latter 
years  of  Leopold  I.  had  seen  the  revival  of  the  old  Liberal  and 
Clerical  parties,  the  former  recruited  from  the  middle  classes  in 
the  towns,  the  latter  from  the  aristocracy  and  the  Flemish  peas- 
antry. With  the  tremendous  industrial  development  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  consequent  rise  of  problems  of  capital  and  labor,  a  new 
party,  the  Socialist,  made  its  appearance,  drawing  its  strength  from 
the  mining  regions  of  the  east. 

Hitherto  the  chief  questions  which  had  agitated  the  country 
had  been  ones  of  education  and  the  relations  of  church  to  state. 


310      HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM 

1886-1910 

But  in  1886  the  country  was  shocked  with  the  news  of  a  great 
SociaHst  rising  in  the  mining  regions  on  the  anniversary  of  the 
establishment  of  the  Commune  in  Paris.  Troops  were  immedi- 
ately dispatched  to  the  scene  of  the  disturbance,  martial  law  pro- 
claimed, and  aft€r  sharp  fighting  the  rising  was  put  down.  But 
the  attention  of  the  nation  had  been  called  to  the  state  of  the  vast 
class  of  industrial  workers,  hitherto  neglected,  and  a  movement 
for  better  economic  conditions  and  universal  suffrage  was  set  on 
foot.  A  long  parliamentary  struggle  between  the  Radicals  and 
Conservatives  reached  a  crisis  in  1893,  when  a  universal  suffrage 
bill  passed  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  but  was  rejected  in  the  upper 
house.  In  reply  the  labor  party  called  for  a  political  strike,  and 
fifty  thousand  artisans  left  their  work  in  the  various  cities.  The 
situation  was  a  critical  one,  and  riots  had  already  broken  out  when 
a  compromise  measure  was  passed,  granting  universal  suflfrage, 
with  added  votes  for  property  qualifications.  Since  then  the 
Socialist- Labor  party  has  modified  its  views  as  it  has  grown  in 
power,  and  has  approached  the  more  radical  wing  of  the  Liberal 
party  in  a  common  opposition  to  clericalism. 

The  elections  of  May  29,  1906,  showed  a  decided  increase  in 
the  Liberal  vote,  as  a  result  of  aroused  public  interest.  The  meet- 
ing of  the  Belgium  and  Dutch  commissioners  at  Brussels,  on  March 
12,  1907,  was  a  long  step  forward  in  Belgium  history,  as  it  evi- 
denced a  tendency  of  the  country  to  meet  the  Netherlands  in  an 
economical  alliance.  The  Venezuelan  question  agitated  Belgium, 
as  it  did  a  number  of  other  countries  interested  there,  until  Belgium 
was  notified  on  August  6,  1907,  that  claims  of  its  creditors  would 
be  paid  according  to  the  decision  of  The  Hague  tribunal.  However, 
the  matter  of  most  moment  before  the  Belgium  people  during  1907 
and  part  of  1908,  was  a  betterment  of  the  condition  of  the  Congo 
Free  State,  and  its  annexation.  Matters  were  set  in  motion  on 
August  23,  1907,  by  the  appointment  by  the  Belgium  government 
and  the  Congo  Free  State,  of  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  treaty  for 
the  annexation  of  the  latter.  After  prolonged  discussion  a  treaty 
was  finally  drawn  up,  which  provided  that  King  Leopold  should 
retain  his  rights  during  his  lifetime.  Debating  on  this  treaty  began 
April  15,  1908,  in  the  Belgium  Parliament,  and  was  continued  until 
August  20,  1908,  when  it  was  passed  by  a  vote  of  eighty-three  to 
fifty-five.  On  August  27th,  the  Senate  began  its  debating  on  it, 
finally  passing  it  on  September  9th,  and  endorsing  the  action  of  the 


BELGIUM    INDEPENDENCE  311 

1086-1910 

ChamlDer  of  Deputies  with  regard  to  it.  Popular  opinion  was  de- 
ferred to,  when,  on  March  9,  1909,  Lieutenant  Arnold  was  sentenced 
to  twelve  years'  imprisonment  for  his  atrocities  in  the  Congo.  The 
International  Conference  of  Maritime  Law  which  convened  at  Brus- 
sels, passed  some  very  admirable  resolutions  regarding  matters 
relating  to  salvage  and  other  maritime  questions,  during  September, 
1909;  and  at  about  the  same  time  the  International  Peace  Bureau 
of  that  city,  suggested  that  a  general  fund  be  established  upon 
which  draft  could  be  made  in  time  of  calamity.  King  Leopold, 
realizing  his  unjwpularity  in  the  Congo,  sought  to  rehabilitate  him- 
self by  promising,  on  October  28,  1909,  to  give  a  large  sum  of  money 
to  fight  disease  there.  The  high  Belgium  officials  also  felt  the  bur- 
den of  the  universal  criticism  of  Belgium  rule  in  the  Congo,  and  on 
December  5th,  registered  their  protest  against  such  charges.  The 
death  of  King  Leopold  on  December  17,  1909,  was  followed  by 
some  confusion  owing  to  the  reports  being  circulated  of  a  death- 
bed marriage  of  the  late  king,  but  on  December  21st,  Albert  I. 
ascended  the  throne,  his  first  official  act  being  promising  reform  in 
the  Congo.  He  showed  no  disposition  to  change  his  cabinet,  re- 
questing Premier  Scollaert  and  the  other  ministers  to  retain  their 
portfolios.  The  principal  question  before  the  Belgfium  govern- 
ment, in  the  early  part  of  1910,  was  the  carrying  out  of  the  prom- 
ises made  by  Albert  I,  upon  his  succession,  with  regard  to  the 
Congo,  the  mismanagement  of  which  has  so  long  been  a  blot  upon 
Belgium  history. 

The  present  political  conditions  in  Belgfium  are  peculiarly  in- 
teresting, for,  as  has  been  said,  the  country  presents  a  picture  of 
European  problems  on  a  small  scale  and  at  an  advanced  stage. 
The  old  Liberal  party,  which  won  the  struggle  for  independence 
and  long  held  the  power  in  the  state,  has  disintegrated  before  the 
rise  of  Socialism,  and  more  extreme  parties  have  taken  its  place. 
On  the  one  hand  is  the  conservative  Clerical  party,  closely  allied  to 
the  Vatican  and  largely  recruited  from  the  peasants,  led  to-day,  as 
for  centuries,  by  their  parish  priests.  At  the  other  end  of  the 
scale  is  the  Radical  or  Socialist  party,  the  champion  of  the  vast 
army  of  industrial  labor,  which  comprises  almost  half  the  popula- 
tion of  the  country.  The  future  of  Belgium  seems  to  lie  between 
these  two  parties,  and  the  struggle  between  such  extreme  exempli- 
fications of  the  tendencies  of  the  day  cannot  fail  to  appeal  to  the 
interesfofalJ.  thoughtful  citizens.  ...  .  . 


312  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1910 

The  external  relations  of  Belgium  have  of  late  centered  about 
her  commercial  and  colonial  expansion,  with  the  king  himself  as 
the  leading  figure.  Leopold  IL  was  essentially  a  business  man  of 
rare  ability,  who,  if  placed  as  a  private  citizen  in  America,  would 
undoubtedly  have  ranked  as  one  of  its  "captains  of  industry."  The 
greatest  traveler  among  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  he  had  before 
his  accession  to  the  throne  visited  the  countries  of  North  Africa, 
as  well  as  Syria  and  the  Far  East.  His  active  spirit  chafed  against 
the  narrow  limits  of  his  little  state,  and  from  the  first  he  was  an 
advocate  of  colonial  expansion.  The  journeys  of  Livingstone  and 
Stanley  centered  the  king's  interest  in  Africa,  and  he  was  quick  to 
see  the  great  commercial  possibilities  of  the  vast  central  regions 
of  the  Dark  Continent.  After  an  exhaustive  study  of  conditions, 
the  king  called,  in  1876,  an  international  conference  at  Brussels, 
composed  of  geographers,  travelers,  and  scientists.  To  this  dis- 
tinguished body  Leopold  proposed  the  establishment  of  an  interna- 
tional state  in  the  Congo  valley  for  the  purpose  of  scientific  ex- 
plorations, the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade,  and  the  opening  of 
the  region  to  the  world's  commerce.  The  plan  met  with  ready 
approval,  and  the  king  was  chosen  president  of  the  international 
committee  which  was  to  administer  the  new  state.  In  1884-1885  the 
Berlin  Congress,  which  met  to  settle  the  partition  of  Africa  among 
the  powers,  placed  the  Congo  Free  State  under  the  complete  con- 
trol of  King  Leopold,  though  the  powers  and  functions  of  the 
state  were  carefully  defined,  and  Belgium  reserved  the  right  to 
annex  the  territory  at  some  future  time.  Under  the  able  direction 
of  Leopold  systematic  explorations  were  carried  on,  the  Congo 
River  was  opened  by  a  line  of  steamboats,  the  Arab  slave  trade, 
the  curse  of  Africa,  was  broken  up,  and  an  extensive  trade  estab- 
lished. But  though  the  state  has  been  commercially  a  success, 
serious  accusations,  apparently  well  founded,  have  of  late  been 
made  against  the  Belgium  administration.  The  reported  establish- 
ment of  a  system  of  tribute  and  forced  labor,  which  has  reduced 
the  natives  to  practical  bondage,  and  the  horrible  atrocities  com- 
mitted by  the  native  soldiery  under  white  commanders,  have  settled 
a  dark  stain  on  the  administration  of  the  Congo  Free  State  which 
has  not  yet  been  removed,  although  King  Albert  has  promised  ex- 
tensive reforms. 

Belgium  has  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  its  position  to-day  in 
the  ranks  of  nations.    Possessed  of  the  richest  coal  and  iron  mines 


BELGIUM    INDEPENDENCE  312a 

1910 

in  Europe,  with  the  most  thickly  populated  territory  of  any  nation, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  China,  Belgium  has  unrivalled  facili- 
ties for  industrial  enterprise,  and  has  employed  them  well.  Com- 
mercially the  little  state  ranks  sixth  among  the  nations,  with  a 
foreign  trade  greater  than  that  of  the  vast  Russian  empire.  The 
port  of  Antwerp,  once  the  busiest  in  Europe,  has  again,  after  the 
lapse  of  three  centuries,  resumed  its  importance,  and  ranks  with 
Hamburg  and  Marseilles  among  the  greatest  in  Europe.  Nor  has 
it  been  in  material  prosperity  alone  that  Belgium  has  progressed. 
The  rise  of  a  new  Belgian  school  of  literature,  with  Verhaeren  and 
Maeterlinck  among  its  chief  exponents,  and  the  revival  of  Flemish 
as  a  national  language,  opposed  to  the  prevailing  French,  tend  to 
disprove  the  charge  so  often  made  that  Belgium  has  no  national 
individuality  of  its  own.  The  growth  of  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  so 
carefully  fostered  by  Leopold  L,  and  the  tendency  toward  the 
establishment  of  a  distinct  national  identity,  are  among  the  most 
cheering  signs  for  the  future  maintenance  of  Belgium  as  an  inde- 
pendent state. 


Chapter    XXVI 

THE   KINGDOM   OF  THE   NETHERLANDS.    1840-1910 

THE  people  of  Holland  had,  on  the  whole,  displayed  ex- 
traordinary indifference  to  the  Belgian  revolution,  and  had 
accepted  the  dissolution  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Nether- 
lands philosophically  and  with  no  great  amount  of  reluctance.  The 
union  with  Belgium  had,  in  fact,  been  little  to  the  taste  of  the  bulk 
of  the  Dutch  people.  The  differences  which  had  developed  in 
the  two  peoples  since  the  final  breach  between  them  over  two 
centuries  before  were  too  profound  to  be  affected  by  so  short  a 
period  of  union  as  fifteen  years,  and  though  the  manner  in  which 
the  separation  was  effected  was  galling  to  Dutch  pride,  the  fact 
itself  was  regarded  by  many  as  rather  to  the  advantage  of  the 
nation  than  otherwise.  So  it  happened  that  the  Dutch  people 
showed  less  interest  in  the  severance  of  the  ties  with  Belgium  than 
in  the  brilliant  conclusion  of  a  long  and  expensive  war  in  the  East, 
which  ended  with  the  total  subjection  of  the  Island  of  Java  by 
Dutch  arms,  and  drew  consolation  for  the  loss  of  the  southern 
provinces  in  the  remarkable  period  of  prosperity  in  the  East  Indies 
inaugurated  by  the  able  governor.  Van  der  Bosch, 

The  conclusion  of  the  final  treaty  with  Belgium  was  generally 
welcomed  in  Holland,  though  the  Dutch,  jealous  of  the  reviving 
prosperity  of  Antwerp,  were  still  unwilling  to  grant  the  free  navi- 
gation of  the  Scheldt  to  their  southern  neighbors,  and  the  ob- 
noxious tolls  remained  in  force  till  1863. 

The  signature  of  the  treaty  with  Belgium  was  the  last  impor- 
tant event  of  the  eventful  reign  of  William  I.  Worn  out  by  the 
disappointments  of  his  reign,  the  king  abdicated  in  1840,  to  be 
succeeded  by  his  son,  William  II.,  a  remarkable  personage  with 
great  force  of  character.  A  born  soldier,  the  new  king  when 
Prince  of  Orange  had  served  with  distinction  under  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  in  the  Peninsular  campaign,  and  had  been  wounded 
while  leading  the  Dutch  troops  at  Waterloo.  His  soldierly  con- 
duct won  the  admiration  and  life-long  friendship  of  the  Iron  Duke, 
and  made  him  for  a  time  a  most  popular  figure  in  Belgium  as  well 
as  in  Holland.     But  William  was  utterly  lacking  in  the  instincts  of 

313 


314  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1830-1849 

a  statesman.  His  secret  negotiations  with  the  Belgians  and  his 
practical  recognition  of  their  independence,  which  was  immedi- 
ately repudiated  by  his  father,  greatly  incensed  the  Dutch  people, 
and  not  even  his  brilliant  campaign  in  1831  could  restore  him  to 
favor.  It  was  openly  proposed  that  the  prince  be  excluded  from 
the  throne  for  treacherous  communication  with  the  enemy,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  retire  for  a  time  from  the  country  till  this  feeling 
was  partially  allayed.  Thus  the  position  of  William  II.  on  his  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  was  anything  but  a  satisfactory  one.  Not  only 
was  the  king  personally  unpopular,  but  the  country  itself  was  in  a 
depressed  condition,  burdened  with  heavy  taxation,  confused  fi- 
nances, and,  above  all,  with  a  cumbersome,  illiberal  constitution, 
which  put  far  too  much  power  in  the  hands  of  the  king.  Yet 
William  was  not  politic  enough  to  see  the  necessity  of  change,  and 
his  marriage  with  a  Russian  princess  served  to  confirm  him  in  his 
autocratic  tendencies.  The  reform  movement,  ever  growing  more 
powerful  and  insistent,  served  to  bring  into  the  political  arena  the 
most  striking  figure  in  recent  Dutch  history.  Jan  Thorbecke,  a 
statesman,  the  most  eminent  Holland  has  seen  since  the  time  of 
Heinsius,  and  pronounced  by  an  English  statesman  to  be  "  too  great 
a  man  for  so  small  a  country,"  had  been  a  professor  in  the  University 
of  Leyden  till  the  question  of  constitutional  revision  called  him  to 
the  leadership  of  the  Liberal  party.  As  early  as  1844  Thorbecke 
had  competed  the  draft  of  a  new  constitution;  but  it  was  not  till 
three  years  later  that  the  king,  warned  by  popular  outbreaks  in 
various  parts  of  Holland,  and  even  in  The  Hague,  was  prepared  to 
yield.  A  commission  for  revision  headed  by  Thorbecke  was  ap- 
pointed, and  a  new  liberal  constitution  was  drawn  up.  The  re- 
vision had  come  just  in  time,  for  it  probably  saved  the  Netherlands 
from  experiencing  the  full  force  of  the  revolutionary  movement 
which  swept  over  Europe  in  the  year  1848.  Its  signature  was 
the  last  official  act  of  King  William,  who  died  March  19,  1840. 

King  William  III.,  whose  reign  was  to  cover  a  longer  period 
than  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors,  was  a  very  different  character 
from  his  father.  Of  a  quiet  and  convivial  nature,  he  had  no 
ambition  to  play  at  statescraft,  and  was  not  likely  to  endanger  bj- 
his  policy  the  national  tranquillity  of  the  Netherlands.  Indeed, 
the  foreign  policy  of  the  country  was  more  influenced  by  the  bril- 
liant Queen  Sophia  than  by  her  husband.  From  his  Russian 
mother  the  king  had  inherited  a  strong  taste  for  autocratic  methods 


KINGDOM     OF     NETHERLANDS  315 

1849-1872 

of  government,  which  showed  itself  to  especial  disadvantage  in 
his  own  family.  His  manners  were  frank,  even  to  brutality,  and 
his  habits  punctilious  to  excess.  But  he  was  essentially  popular 
with  the  people,  who  felt  under  the  harsh  exterior  the  true  good- 
ness of  heart  which  displayed  itself  in  noble  self-sacrifice  during 
the  disastrous  floods  of  1855  and  1861,  and  they  readily  forgave  the 
king  the  domestic  blunders  which  estranged  him  from  his  family  and 
drove  his  son  into  voluntary  exile.  The  king  disliked  his  great  min- 
ister, Thorbecke,  as  was  perhaps  natural,  but  recognized  in  him  a 
man  of  superior  mind,  and  generally  yielded  his  own  inclinations  to 
the  advice  of  the  Liberal  statesman.  Thorbecke  was  indeed  the  dom- 
inant figure  in  Dutch  politics  to  the  day  of  his  death.  His  career 
was  given  to  the  consolidation  of  the  principles  of  the  new  consti- 
tution, which  it  had  been  his  first  great  task  to  create.  Among  the 
achievements  of  the  great  minister  were  the  establishment  of  a 
system  of  local  self-government  such  as  few  states  of  Europe  en- 
joyed, the  reform  of  the  East  Indian  possessions,  the  raising  of 
state  credit,  and  the  introduction  of  a  free-trade  policy,  which  was 
effective  in  increasing  the  shipping  interests  of  Holland  to  the 
utmost.  For  a  time  the  work  of  Thorbecke  was  interrupted  by  a 
contest  with  the  Catholic  Church.  The  Pope,  Pius  IX.,  had  de- 
cided to  reestablish  the  old  bishoprics  in  Holland,  after  a  lapse  of 
over  two  centuries,  and  this  untimely  action  revived  the  old  anti- 
Catholic  feeling  among  the  people  of  Holland  to  a  remarkable 
degree.  Thorbecke,  who  had  sought  to  maintain  a  moderate  atti- 
tude, was  violently  assailed  by  the  ultra-Protestant  party,  accused  of 
treason,  and  finally  was  forced  out  of  power  for  nearly  nine  years. 

The  year  i860  was  marked  by  the  commencement  of  a  vast 
programme  of  state  railway  building,  and  by  1872  a  network  of 
state-owned  roads  covered  the  country,  built,  be  it  noted,  by  the 
profits  of  the  exploited  East  Indian  colonies,  and  hence  unique  as 
being  absolutely  free  from  debt.  The  second  ministry  of  Thor- 
becke was  marked  by  a  renewal  of  his  reform  programme,  success- 
fully carried  out  in  spite  of  a  violent  and  sometimes  personal  oppo- 
sition from  the  Conservative  party,  headed  by  the  brilliant,  though 
erratic.  Van  Heemskirk.  A  new  educational  system,  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  West  Indies,  and  vast  internal  works,  canals,  and 
railways,  mark  this  progressive  period. 

Since  the  loss  of  Belgium  the  Netherlands  had  kept  free  of 
foreign  complications,  though  the  fact  that  the  king,  through  his 


816  HOLLAND     AND     BELGIUM 

1866 

possession  of  Luxemburg  and  Limburg,  was  a  member  of  the 
Germanic  confederation  was  for  a  time  a  menace  to  the  neutral 
attitude  of  Holland.  But  the  rivalry  between  France  and  Prussia 
after  1866,  and  the  aggressive  designs  of  both  powers,  threatened 
at  one  time  to  involve  the  intermediate  state  of  the  Netherlands. 
We  have  seen  how  Napoleon  IIL  had  sought  to  involve 
Prussia  in  a  treaty  for  the  conquest  of  Belgium,  and  how  he  had 
been  outwitted  by  the  diplomacy  of  Bismarck.  Repulsed  in  his 
overtures  to  Prussia,  the  French  emperor  turned  to  Luxemburg, 
and  opened  negotiations  with  Holland  for  the  purchase  of  the 
little  duchy.  Luxemburg,  since  the  dissolution  of  the  Germanic 
confederation  an  independent  possession  of  the  king  of  the  Nether- 
lands, though  territorially  insignificant,  was,  in  view  of  its  central 
position,  a  place  of  great  strategic  importance.  Though  no  longer 
connected  with  Germany,  a  Prussian  garrison  still  occupied  the 
great  fortress,  famous  throughout  Europe,  which  overlooked  the 
sleepy  little  capital  of  the  duchy.  In  his  negotiations  for  the  pos- 
session of  this  coveted  spot,  the  Emperor  Napoleon  found  a  firm 
ally  in  the  talented  Queen  Sophia  of  Holland,  by  birth  a  Wiirttem- 
berg  princess,  of  whom  it  was  said  that  she  knew  the  affairs  of 
Europe  better  than  most  statesmen.  From  being  a  warm  admirer 
of  Bismarck,  the  queen  had  at  this  time  become  an  active  enemy, 
and  to  her  influence  the  Iron  Chancellor  has  ascribed  in  great  part 
the  hostile  attitude  of  southern  Germany  to  Prussia  during  the 
Austro-Prussian  War  of  1866.  Queen  Sophia  was  possessed  of 
a  continual  fear  of  Prussian  aggression  in  the  direction  of  Holland, 
and  Bismarck  tells  us  in  his  memoirs  that  a  sensational  speech  made 
by  a  French  minister  of  state,  declaring  that  France  would  never 
tolerate  Prussian  advance  on  the  Zuyder  Zee,  was  directly  inspired 
by  her.  So  the  queen  was  t?y  no  means  averse  to  the  sale  of  Lux- 
emburg to  Napoleon,  for  whom  she  had  a  strong  friendship,  which 
outlasted  the  days  of  the  emperor's  prosperity.  King  William, 
though  unwilling  to  offend  Prussia,  was  finally  persuaded  to  con- 
sent to  the  sale.  But  the  news  of  the  transaction  had  reached  the 
Prussian  chancellory,  and  Count  Bismarck  took  care  that  it  should 
be  spread  broadcast  throughout  Germany.  The  result  was  what 
he  had  anticipated — a  storm  of  indignant  protest  was  raised,  for 
Luxemburg  was  still  considered  to  be  German  ground,  and  the 
Prussian  envoy  at  The  Hague  was  instructed  to  declare  that  in 
view  of  the  popular  resentment  Prussia  would  be  forced  to  con- 


KINGDOM     OF     NETHERLANDS  817 

1867-1877 

sider  the  cession  of  Luxemburg  to  be  a  casus  belli.  The  effect 
of  this  declaration  was  decisive,  for  the  Dutch  government  hastily 
withdrew  its  consent  to  the  treaty  of  cession  on  the  very  eve  of  its 
signature.  Foiled  for  a  second  time  by  his  great  opponent,  Napo- 
leon determined  at  least  not  to  leave  the  field  in  possession  of  his 
rivals,  and  so  demanded  the  withdrawal  of  the  Prussian  garrison 
from  Luxemburg.  The  demand  was  promptly  refused,  on  the 
ground  that  Prussia  would  not  consent  on  any  terms  to  the  with- 
drawal of  Luxemburg  from  German  influence.  But  for  once 
Bismarck  was  compelled  to  yield  his  ground.  At  the  suggestion 
of  Russia  a  conference  was  called  at  London  to  settle  the  question 
of  Luxemburg,  and  by  the  treaty  of  May  ii,  1867,  Prussia  was  or- 
dered to  withdraw  her  garrison,  while  the  contracting  powers  guar- 
anteed the  neutrality  of  the  duchy  under  the  crown  of  Holland. 

The  Luxemburg  question  formed  but  one  of  those  diplomatic 
skirmishes  which  ushered  in  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  Queen 
Sophia  had  clearly  seen  how  events  were  trending,  and  had 
repeatedly,  though  vainly,  warned  Napoleon  of  the  designs  of 
Prussia  against  him.  During  the  war  Holland,  like  Belgium, 
stood  in  a  precarious  position  between  two  great  powers  engaged 
in  a  mortal  struggle,  the  more  so  as  her  court  was  notoriously 
favorable  to  the  defeated  party.  But  an  able  ministry  succeeded 
in  maintaining  a  strictly  neutral  attitude. 

In  1872  the  Netherlands  lost  her  greatest  figure  in  Thorbecke, 
wlio  died  after  seeing  such  progress  under  the  reforms  he  had 
instituted  that  he  who  had  once  been  regarded  as  a  revolutionist 
was  now  called  a  Tory.  His  death  was  at  the  time  overshadowed 
by  the  brilliant  festivities  held  throughout  the  country  to  celebrate 
the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  that  greatest  event  in  Dutch 
history,  the  capture  of  Brill  by  the  Sea  Beggars,  which  inaugurated 
the  War  of  Independence.  In  1877  ^^^  nation  mourned  another 
loss  in  the  death  of  Queen  Sophia.  Her  character  has  been  elo- 
quently described  by  Motley  as  "  full  of  charity,  constantly  occu- 
pied by  thoughts  of  others,  forgetful  of  self,  and  deeply  interested 
in  all  great  subjects  which  occupy  the  more  elevated  intellects."  * 
The  death  of  Queen  Sophia  was  most  disastrious  to  the  harmony 
of  the  royal  family.  With  the  removal  of  her  restraining  influence 
open   quarrels  broke  out   between  the  king  and  the   Prince  of 

*The  memoirs  of  two  noted  Englishmen,  Lord  Malmesbury  and  Henry 
Reeves,  contain  much  that  is  of  interest  about  this  notable  queen. 


318  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1877-1910 

Orange,  who  after  some  violent  scenes  retired  to  Paris,  where  he 
died  in  1879.  A  man  of  unusual  ability,  and  very  popular,  the 
prince  had  promised  to  rank  among  the  great  ones  of  his  race. 
With  his  death  the  direct  line  of  the  house  of  Orange  seemed 
threatened  with  extinction,  and  the  possible  claims  of  a  Prussian 
prince  renewed  the  fears  of  German  aggression  and  added  to  the 
general  alarm.  But  all  these  fears  were  dispelled  by  the  marriage 
of  the  king  to  Princess  Emma  of  Waldeck,  and  the  birth,  in  1880, 
of  an  heiress  to  the  house  of  Orange,  the  present  Queen  Wilhel- 
mina.  King  William  died  in  1890,  after  a  prosperous  reign  of 
forty  years,  and  Queen  Emma  was  appointed  regent  for  the  young 
queen,  while  Luxemburg,  following  the  Salic  law,  now  became 
separated  from  Holland  and  passed  to  the  Duke  of  Nassau. 

Since  1870  the  relations  of  Holland  with  her  neighbors  have 
been  peaceful  and  in  the  main  uneventful.  The  war  between  the 
Boers  and  the  English  in  1881  aroused  the  Dutch  to  a  remem- 
brance of  the  fact  that  these  sturdy  South  African  farmers  were 
their  descendants  and  kinsmen.  Moved  by  popular  feeling,  the 
government  was  induced  to  offer  to  mediate  in  the  struggle,  but 
found  that  the  British  premier,  Gladstone,  had  already  decided  to 
grant  the  Transvaal  its  independence.  The  Jameson  Raid  in  1896, 
and  the  second  Boer  War,  concluded  in  1902,  again  awakened  in- 
tense interest,  and  in  the  wonderful  fight  of  the  little  South  African 
republics  against  the  greatest  empire  of  the  world  the  Dutch  people 
saw  a  replica  of  their  ancestors'  heroic  struggle  against  Spanish  rule. 
Popular  feeling  ran  high  against  England,  but  the  attitude  of  the 
government  was  strictly  neutral,  though  offers  of  mediation  were 
made,  and  it  is  on  record  that  the  Dutch  ministry  had  advised  Pres- 
ident Kriiger  against  a  declaration  of  war.  The  young  Queen 
Wilhelmina  reached  her  majority  in  1898,  and  was  solemnly  en- 
throned in  the  new  church  at  Amsterdam,  taking  the  oath  of 
fidelity  with  the  customary  ceremonies  in  the  presence  of  the  states- 
general.  Her  marriage,  three  years  later,  to  Duke  Henry  of 
Mecklenburg  was  generally  popular,  though  some  saw  renewed  the 
bugbear  of  a  German  invasion.  However,  the  conferring  on  the 
duke  of  the  title  of  Prince  Henry  of  the  Netherlands,  happily  re- 
viving the  memory  of  a  popular  brother  of  William  HL,  created 
great  satisfaction. 

But  perhaps  the  event  in  the  recent  history  of  the  Netherlands 
which  created  the  most  general  interest  was  the  meeting  at  The 
Hague  of   the  International  Peace  Conference  in   1899.      In  the 


KINGDOM     OF     NETHERLANDS  319 

1899-1910 

fall  of  the  preceding  year  the  Emperor  Nicholas  of  Russia  issued 
his  famous  rescript,  inviting  the  states  of  the  civilized  world  to 
attend  a  conference  in  the  interests  of  international  peace  and  arbi- 
tration. Holland,  as  a  small  and  neutral  state,  the  birthplace  of 
Grotius,  the  father  of  international  law,  and  always  foremost  ad- 
vocate of  arbitration,  was  fittingly  selected  as  the  seat  of  the  con- 
ference. The  queen  placed  the  royal  palace  near  The  Hague, 
known  as  The  House  in  the  Wood,  at  the  disposal  of  the  congress. 
Here  on  May  i8,  1899,  in  the  historic  Orange  Hall,  erected  by  the 
widow  of  the  stadtholder,  Prince  Frederick  Henry,  and  decorated 
by  the  leading  Dutch  artists  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  assem- 
bled a  distinguished  company  of  delegates  from  almost  all  the 
leading  nations  of  the  earth,  men  noted  as  diplomats,  lawyers,  and 
soldiers.  Space  forbids  us  more  than  a  mere  sketch  of  the  discus- 
sions and  conclusions  of  this  assembly,  which,  whatever  its  imme- 
diate results  may  be,  was  certainly  epoch-making  in  its  general 
significance.  In  brief,  the  objects  of  the  conference  were  two- 
fold— the  reduction  of  military  armaments,  with  restrictions  in  the 
methods  of  modern  warfare,  and  the  construction  of  some  definite 
scheme  for  international  arbitration.  The  projects  of  a  general 
disarmament  failed  completely,  chiefly  through  the  declaration,  in 
a  remarkable  speech  by  the  German  military  delegate,  Von 
Schwartzhoff,  that  his  country  neither  needed  nor  desired  any  such 
action.  Of  more  especial  interest  to  Americans,  who  are  not 
afflicted  with  the  crushing  military  burdens  that  constitute  the 
armed  peace  of  Europe,  was  the  successful  establishment  of  a  per- 
manent court  of  arbitration,  to  sit  at  The  Hague  and  apply  the  code 
of  international  law  to  disputes  between  nations.  Though  this  court 
has  not  as  yet  fulfilled  the  hopes  of  success  it  first  inspired,  it  should 
be  a  matter  of  pride  for  Americans  that  their  country  was  the  first 
to  refer  a  dispute  to  the  arbitration  of  The  Hague  tribunal.^ 

Internally  the  history  of  the  Netherlands  has  been  marked  in 
the  last  generation  by  a  marvelous  increase  in  commerce  and  indus- 
try, bringing  inevitably  in  its  course  new  and  difficult  social  and 
political  problems.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  indication  of  the 
spirit  of  the  age  has  been  the  rise  of  a  Socialist  or  Labor  party  in  a 
country  noted  for  centuries  as  the  typical  home  of  the  middle  class 
merchant  and  shopkeeper. 

'  In  the  dispute  with  Mexico  over  the  Pious  Fund.  The  best  account  of  the 
Peace  Conference  will  be  found  in  a  book  by  the  late  Fcderick  Holls,  secretary 
to  the  American  delegation. 


»2a  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1860-1910 

The  chief  political  parties  in  the  Netherlands  have  been  the 
Liberal,  drawn  mostly  from  the  middle  classes  of  the  cities;  the 
Conservative-Protestant,  recruited  from  the  ranks  of  the  aris- 
tocracy and  the  Calvinist  peasantry ;  and  the  Catholic  party,  strong 
in  the  southern  provinces  of  Brabant  and  Limburg.  The  rise  of 
the  Social-Labor  movement  dates  from  the  days  of  the  famous 
International  Society  of  Workingmen,  whose  dreaded  power  was 
at  its  height  in  the  sixties  of  the  last  century.  Little  noted  for  some 
years,  the  Socialists  took  advantage,  in  1886,  of  a  general  economic 
crisis  to  spread  their  propaganda  among  the  working  classes.  The 
ill-advised  repressive  measures  of  the  government,  alarmed  per- 
haps by  the  Communist  rising  in  Belgium  in  the  same  year,  led  to 
riots  in  Amsterdam  and  much  bloodshed.  Excluded  from  politi- 
cal power  by  a  restricted  suffrage,  the  Socialist  party  advocated  at 
first,  in  violent  phrases,  the  suppression  of  private  property  by 
force.  Later  came  a  split  in  the  party,  and  the  moderate  element 
adopted  the  more  sensible  and  effective  means  of  advancing  its 
views  by  purely  political  agitation.  A  later  interesting  phase  of 
the  labor  question  in  Holland  was  furnished  by  the  great  strike  in 
1903  on  the  state-owned  railroads,  and  the  passage  by  the  states- 
general  of  a  bill  forbidding,  under  heavy  penalty,  any  more  strikes 
on  public  works. 

Prince  Henry,  the  royal  consort,  took  advantage  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  establish  himself  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  Neth- 
erlands, when  on  February  21,  1907,  the  "Berlin"  went  ashore  off 
the  Hook  of  Holland,  and  many  lives  were  lost.  He  personally 
aided  in  the  rescue,  and  his  bravery  will  not  be  forgotten.  The 
Dutch  were  very  much  agitated  over  the  lack  of  an  heir  to  the 
throne,  always  fearing  German  succession,  which,  fortunately  has 
been  definitely  settled.  During  1907,  the  whole  country  looked 
forward  to  the  meeting  of  the  Hague  tribunal,  and  on  February 
22nd,  the  government  announced  that  on  or  about  June  ist, 
delegates  would  be  received.  The  session  at  Brussels  of  the 
Belgium  and  Dutch  commissioners  marked  a  new  epoch  in  the  re- 
lations between  the  two  countries,  arrangements  being  effected  for 
a  more  economical  alliance  between  them.  The  convening  of  the 
second  Peace  Conference,  on  June  15,  1907,  filled  the  Dutch  city 
with  delegates  from  all  over  the  world,  and  for  the  following  few 
months,  matters  that  had  disturbed  the  various  nations,  were  peace- 
fully discussed  and  settled  by  their  various  representatives  at  The 


KINGDOM    OF    NETHERLANDS         321 

1910 

Hague.  The  Queen  received  the  various  delegates  on  July  ist, 
charming  them  all  with  her  sweet  dignity  and  royal  bearing.  The 
Netherlands  have  always  been  thrifty  as  a  people  and  a  govern- 
ment, and  the  bill  introduced  in  parliament,  in  November,  1907, 
for  the  redemption  of  40,000  acres  of  land  from  the  Zuyder  Zee,  at 
a  cost  of  $1,200,000,  was  in  line  with  its  general  policy. 

The  Netherlands  took  a  decided  stand  with  regard  to 
Venezuelan  affairs.  When  their  colonists  appealed  to  them  on  July 
5,  1908,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  promise  sufficient  protection,  and 
they  instantly  resented  the  expulsion  of  their  minister,  M.  de  Rue, 
on  July  25th,  from  Venezuela,  sending  a  government  cruiser  after 
him.  The  Gelderland,  a  war  ship,  was  sent  from  Willemstad  for 
Venezuela,  on  July  27th,  and  on  July  29th,  the  Dutch  residents  of 
the  former  port,  started  a  boycott  against  Venezuela  schooners. 
The  battleships  were  ordered  on  July  30th,  to  be  made  ready  for 
instant  sailing  to  the  Caribbean  sea.  The  Venezuelan  government, 
on  July  31st,  sent  a  note  to  the  Netherlands,  endeavoring  to  excuse 
their  action,  by  setting  forth  the  insults  to  which  they  claimed  they 
had  been  subject,  and  on  August  ist.  President  Castro  followed 
this  by  the  demand  for  an  apology  from  Holland.  The  Gelderland 
sent  on  August  2nd,  a  report  to  the  home  government,  that  the 
authorities  refused  to  allow  them  to  send  any  communications  sent 
ashore.  The  trouble  between  the  two  countries  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  whole  world,  and  on  August  i8th,  the  United  States 
outlined  her  policy  by  notifying  Holland  that  any  action,  save  that 
of  an  endeavor  to  gain  territory,  would  be  satisfactory  to  her.  Hol- 
land showed  her  intentions  fully  and  openly  in  issuing  an  order  on 
Augfust  19th,  that  the  warships  be  cleared  for  action.  Matters  were 
in  this  condition  for  several  weeks,  Castro  further  involving  himself 
by  refusing  to  allow  shipment  of  goods  to  Dutch  ports  from 
Venezuela.  This  high-handed  action  resulted  in  revocation  of  the 
treaty  of  1894,  between  Holland  and  Venezuela.  This  was  followed 
by  the  seizing  by  the  Gelderland  of  several  of  the  Venezuelan  ves- 
sels, but  after  the  fleeing  of  Castro,  the  Gelderland  was  recalled, 
although,  on  January  18,  1909,  Holland  issued  her  intention  of  keep- 
ing her  warships  near  Venezuela  until  the  pending  questions  were 
definitely  decided. 

In  the  midst  of  the  grave  questions  of  war  and  statesmanship, 
the  country  was  delighted  over  the  birth  of  the  Princess  Juliana,  on 
April  30,  1909,  which  gave  Holland  the  long  desired  heir.     The 


322      HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM 

1910 

christening  of  this  little  princess  was  celebrated  with  great  pomp, 
June  4th,  and  she  is  now,  in  April,  1910,  a  year  old,  and  the  idol 
of  the  people  she  may  one  day  rule  over. 

This  sketch  of  the  present  conditions  in  the  Netherlands 
would  be  incomplete  without  a  glance  at  the  vast  colonial  empire 
which  the  enterprise  of  Holland's  sturdy  seamen  and  thrifty  mer- 
chants built  up  for  her  in  the  East  Indian  seas.  The  Netherlands' 
colonial  empire  to-day  includes  the  richest  and  most  populous 
islands  of  the  East  Indies,  Java,  Sumatra,  Celebes,  the  Spice 
Islands,  and  vast  regions  in  Borneo  and  New  Guinea.  This  vast 
empire  over  seas  in  sixty  times  the  size  of  the  mother  country, 
with  a  population  over  six  times  as  great.  The  gradual  development 
of  the  Dutch  colonial  empire  has  been  traced  incidentally  in  these 
pages  from  the  time  when  Houtman  made  his  daring  voyage  into 
the  Portuguese  main  in  1595,  through  the  long  and  eventful  period 
of  struggle  with  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  which  ended  in  a 
complete  triumph  for  the  Dutch  and  the  commercial  monopoly  of 
the  great  spice  trade  by  the  East  India  Company.  By  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  Holland's  colonial  empire  had  reached 
its  height.  The  Dutch  controlled  Java,  Sumatra,  the  Spice  Islands, 
Ceylon,  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  had  important  trading 
stations  in  India,  China,  and  in  Japan,  where  they  were  the  only 
Europeans  to  be  tolerated.  The  disastrous  wars  of  the  latter  part 
of  the  century,  culminating  in  the  French  Revolution,  delivered  the 
Dutch  colonies  for  the  time  into  the  hands  of  their  greatest  rivals, 
the  English.  The  rule  of  the  great  East  India  Company  ceased  in 
1798,  when  the  stadtholder,  William  V.,  a  fugitive  from  his  native 
land,  placed  the  Netherlands'  colonies  under  British  protection. 
Dutch  governors  continued  for  a  time  to  administer  the  East 
Indies  regardless  of  changes  in  the  mother  country,  until  181 1, 
when  on  the  annexation  of  Holland  to  the  French  empire  the 
islands  were  annexed  to  the  British  empire.  Four  years  passed, 
and  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon  most  of  the  colonies  were  restored  to 
Holland,  though  Ceylon  and  the  Cape  Colony  had  permanently 
passed  into  British  hands.  Many  succeeding  years  were  spent  by 
the  Dutch  in  a  practical  reconquest  of  their  former  ground.  Suma- 
tra, Celebes,  and  the  Moluccas  had  to  be  subdued  by  force,  and  a 
long  and  bloody  war,  in  which  thousands  of  Europeans  perished, 
was  necessary  before  the  whole  of  Java  submitted  to  the  brilliant 
genius  of  General  Koch.    Only  in  the  northern  part  of  Sumatra 


KINGDOM  OF  NETHERLANDS   322a 

1910 

have  the  Dutch  failed  as  yet  to  completely  establish  their  authority. 
The  little  mountainous  state  of  Atchin  bravely  resisted  all  attempts 
at  subjugation,  and  a  final  war  for  its  conquest,  beg^n  in  1870, 
has  continued  sporadically  to  the  present  time  with  little  real 
advantage  and  no  glory  to  the  Dutch  arms. 

The  monopolistic  rule  of  the  East  India  Company  ceased,  as 
has  been  said,  in  1798.  On  their  recession  to  Holland  the  colonies 
were  directly  administered  by  the  Dutch  government  with  little 
or  no  regard  for  the  welfare  of  the  natives  and  solely  for  the 
benefit  of  the  mother  country.  A  system  of  forced  labor,  called 
the  culture  system,  was  universally  introduced,  and  the  home  treas- 
ury was  swelled  by  the  huge  profits  of  the  state-owned  plantations. 
A  new  era  for  the  Indies  began,  however,  with  the  revision  of  the 
constitution  in  1848,  by  which  the  supervision  of  the  colonial 
administration  was  placed  more  nearly  in  the  hands  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Dutch  people.  A  new  conception  of  a  government 
of  the  colonies  for  the  benefit  of  the  natives  began  to  gain  ground, 
and  this  humanitarian  movement  was  given  new  impulse  in  i860 
by  the  publication  of  an  epoch-making  novel,  "Max  Havelaar,"  by 
a  former  colonial  official,  Eduard  Douwes  Dekker,  in  which  the 
abuses  of  the  culture  system  were  painted  in  startling  colors.  The 
Liberal  party  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  a  different  policy.  The 
culture  system  of  forced  labor  was  gradually  abolished  or  al- 
leviated, and  the  revenues  of  the  Indies  were  no  longer  poured  into 
the  Dutch  treasury,  but  retained  for  the  local  benefit.  The  result 
has  been  a  marvelous  increase  in  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  the 
colonies.  Under  the  able  administration  of  such  men  as  Frans 
Van  der  Putte  the  population  has  more  than  doubled  in  less  than 
fifty  years,  and,  though  the  natives  have  as  yet  little  share  in  the 
government,  affairs  have  been  administered  in  general  greatly  to 
their  benefit.  In  fact,  the  Dutch  Indies  present  to-day  one  of  the 
too  few  successful  examples  of  prosperous  colonial  government, 
/and  form  an  interesting  object  lesson  worthy  of  careful  study  by 
\those  nations  whose  career  of  colonial  expansion  has  just  beg^n. 

Though  the  Netherlands  no  longer  occupy  the  g^eat  place 
among  nations  which  was  theirs  two  centuries  ago,  the  little  state 
lives  by  no  means  merely  in  the  memories  of  a  glorious  past.  The 
Dutch  people  govern  one  of  the  greatest  colonial  empires  in  the 
world;  despite  the  slender  natural  resources  of  their  land,  wrested 
by  centuries  of  painful  labor  from  the  sea,  they  rival  the  greatest 


322b  HOLLAND    AND    BELGIUM 

1910 

nations  in  works  of  peace  and  enterprises  oi  activity.  With  a 
commerce  which  has  increased  fivefold  in  the  last  half  century, 
Holland  stands  to-day  as  the  fifth  commercial  power  of  the  world, 
with  a  trade  extending  to  every  sea,  infinitely  greater  than  she 
enjoyed  in  the  days  of  her  former  greatness.  Her  internal  ad- 
vancement has  kept  pace  with  her  commercial  prosperity.  Great 
ship  canals  have  opened  such  interior  cities  as  Rotterdam  and 
Amsterdam  to  the  world's  commerce,  and  placed  them  among  the 
leading  ports  of  Europe;  and  the  gigantic  project  of  draining 
the  shallow  Zuyder  Zee  and  reclaiming  a  vast  area  to  agriculture 
has  lately  been  seriously  agitated. 

The  Dutch  people  have  retained  all  the  enterprise  and  the 
capacity  for  painful,  determined  labor  in  the  face  of  obstacles  which 
distinguished  their  ancestors  and  gave  the  nation  its  proudest 
boast:  "Deus  mare,  Batavus  litora  fecit "^  In  an  age  when 
the  future  existence  of  small  independent  states  seems  every- 
where to  be  menaced,  this  people  will  yet  have  nothing  to  fear  if 
they  have  also  retained  their  forefather's  love  of  liberty  and  of 
country,  and  if,  mindful  of  the  lessons  of  a  glorious  past,  they  re- 
member and  adhere  faithfully  to  the  motto  of  their  greatest  leader, 
"Je  maint'iendrai." 

■God  made  the  sea,  Batavian  made  the  shore. 


HISTORY  OF  SWITZERLAND 


PART  I 

EARLY  SWITZERLAND  AND  THE  RISE  OF 
THE  CONFEDERATION.  -1516  A.  D. 


HISTORY   OF  SWITZERLAND 


Chapter   I 

THE   ANCIENT   RACES   AND  THEIR   CIVILIZATION 
looo  B.  C. — 750  A.  D. 

WE  have  no  information,  nor  even  any  tradition,  to  tell 
us  when  and  how  Switzerland  was  first  peopled.  But 
monuments  and  remains  of  hoary  antiquity  teach  us 
that  it  was  inhabited  at  the  earliest  time  when  mankind  appears 
at  all  in  Europe.  Here,  as  in  France  and  Belgium,  human  imple- 
ments made  of  flint,  together  with  the  bones  of  mammalia  long 
since  extinct,  such  as  the  mammoth,  reindeer,  and  cave  bear,  have 
been  found  in  caves  in  many  places,  notably  at  Thayngen,  in 
Canton  Schaffhausen.  The  nature  of  the  country  and  the  climate 
must  in  those  days  have  been  rude  and  inhospitable,  as  they  now 
are  in  the  extreme  north,  and  men  lived  like  the  savages  of  to-day, 
dwelling  probably  mostly  in  caves  ( "  Cave-Dwellers  "  or  "  Trog- 
lodytes"). But  their  origin,  their  fate,  and  their  disappearance 
are  wrapped  in  obscurity. 

Many  centuries,  possibly  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years,  must 
have  elapsed  after  this  before  nature  assumed  her  present  form. 
The  first  settlements,  of  the  period  when  men  took  to  fixed  dwell- 
ings and  began  to  seek  a  higher  civilization,  were  the  lake  (or  pile) 
dwellings,  of  which  the  first  discoveries  of  importance  were  made  at 
Overmeilen,  on  the  Lake  of  Zurich,  during  the  winter  of  1853-1854. 
Their  existence  is  traced  to  the  first  thousand  years  before  Christ. 
These  dwellings  were  made  of  wicker-work,  clay,  and  straw,  and 
stood  upon  a  row  of  piles  driven  firmly  into  the  bed  of  the  lake, 
and  joined  together  by  wooden  planks.  It  is  not  quite  clear 
whether  these  remarkable  habitations  were  chosen  by  the  inhab- 
itants for  the  sake  of  fishing,  or  from  the  necessity  of  defending 
themselves  against  wild  beasts  and  savage  tribes.  But  a  distinct 
picture  of  the  mode  of  life  of  the  inhabitants  is  handed  down  to  us 
by  the  numberless  utensils,  implements,  and  animal  and  vegetable 
remains  which  have  been  found  on  the  sites  of  such  lake-dwellings 

387 


328  SWITZERLAND 

10CO    B.C.-750   A.D. 

deeply  embedded  under  layers  of  peat  or  in  the  beds  of  lakes. 
Judging  by  these  articles,  the  pile-builders  had  already  taken  the 
first  step  toward  a  higher  civilization;  they  were  no  longer  in  the 
primitive  condition  of  mere  hunters  and  fishers,  but  already  en- 
gaged in  cattle-farming  and  agriculture;  they  kept  oxen,  sheep, 
goats,  and  pigs ;  they  planted  barley,  wheat,  and  flax,  and  were  at 
least  acquainted  with  fruit  trees,  if  they  did  not  cultivate  them. 
For  these  purposes  they  used  implements  skillfully  fashioned  out  of 
stone,  bone,  'wood,  and  horn,  such  as  knives,  hatchets,  chisels,  awls, 
and  needles.  When  they  later,  probably  by  means  of  barter,  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  metals,  bronze  and  iron,  they  employed 
these  more  pliable  and  more  durable  materials,  and  could  then 
make  their  implements  much  more  perfect.  By  the  pile-dwellings 
of  the  lakes  of  Neuchatel  and  Bienne  we  find  that  this  progress  was 
first  made  in  western  Switzerland,  which  lay  nearer  to  the  ad- 
vanced civilization  of  the  Rhone  district.  In  very  early  times,  too, 
the  lake-dwellers  knew  how  to  make  excellent  thread  and  cord, 
cloth  and  clothing  out  of  flax  and  linen,  and  could  mold  cooking 
utensils,  plates,  and  dishes  out  of  clay.  Time  perfected  their  skill ; 
their  household  utensils  became  more  numerous  and  more  artistic, 
and  soon  ornaments  and  trinkets,  such  as  rings  and  bracelets, 
brooches,  and  hairpins,  came  into  use,  which  show  that  the  neces- 
saries of  life  and  its  customs  were  growing  gradually  more  refined. 
Little  by  little  men  forsook  these  lake-dwellings,  few  of  which 
seem  to  have  been  preserved  even  as  late  as  the  time  of  the  Romans, 
and  settled  themselves  on  the  mainland  in  the  vicinity.  Most  of 
the  pile-buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  many  were  forsaken 
in  very  early  times,  even  before  the  discovery  of  metals. 

We  speak  of  the  Celtic  tribes,  but  in  reality  we  know  no  more 
of  the  name  and  descent  of  the  population  than  we  do  of  the  period 
of  the  lake-dwellings.  It  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the  Indo- 
European  race;  and  as  the  objects  that  have  been  found  belonging 
to  the  epoch  of  the  lake-dwellers  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  those 
discovered  on  the  mainland  in  the  tombs  and  ruins  of  a  later  period, 
which  are  undoubtedly  Celtic  (Gallic)  in  origin,  it  is  thought  that 
those  older  settlements  may  also  be  ascribed  to  that  race.  The 
Celts  originally  inhabited  almost  the  whole  of  Middle  and  Western 
Europe,  and  also  Switzerland,  before  they  were  driven  out  by  the 
Romans  and  the  Teutonic  tribes;  but  the  first  certain  information 
we  have  of  those  in  Switzerland  comes  to  us  through  Romans  and 


ANCIENT     HISTORY  »«9 

1000  B.C.-750  A.D. 

Greeks  of  the  last  two  centuries  before  Christ.  A  number  of 
different  tribes  then  occupied  this  land,  by  nature  so  varied  in 
aspect:  the  Allobroges  around  Geneva,  the  Sequani  around  the 
lakes  of  Neuchatel  and  Bienne,  chiefly  beyond  the  Jura,  the  Raurici 
around  Basle,  the  Rhaetians,  a  mingled  race  of  Celts  and  Etrus- 
cans, throughout  the  Alpine  district  of  the  southeast,  as  far  as  the 
Lake  of  Zug,  the  upper  Lake  of  Zurich  and  the  Lake  of  Constance, 
the  Veragri  and  Seduin  in  Valais. 

The  most  noteworthy  are  the  Helvetians,  who  originally  occu- 
pied southern  Germany  as  far  as  the  Main,  besides  central  Switzer- 
land, and  whose  power  surpassed  that  of  any  other  Celtic  tribe. 
They  were  divided  into  almost  independent  tribes  or  counties 
(Gatte),  such  as  those  of  the  Tigorini,  Verbigeni,  etc.,  the  county 
assemblies  managing  common  affairs.  In  the  possession  of  many 
elements  of  a  higher  civilization,  such  as  gold  coinage  and  the 
Greek  alphabet,  they  were  also,  as  Caesar,  later  their  conqueror, 
says,  "the  bravest  people  of  the  Gauls."  At  the  commencement 
of  the  great  German  migration,  with  the  invasion  of  the  Cimbri 
and  Teutons,  they  followed  the  general  course  toward  the  sunny 
south,  and  in  the  year  107  B.C.,  under  their  youthful  leader, 
Divico,  totally  defeated  the  Romans  at  Aginnum  (now  Agen)  on 
the  Garonne,  and  forced  them  to  pass  under  the  yoke.  But  failing 
to  follow  up  their  victory,  they  were  forced  to  retreat,  after  the 
greater  part  of  them  had  been  defeated  (loi  b.  c),  together  with 
the  Cimbri,  by  Marius  in  the  plains  of  Lombardy. 

The  Celts  did  not  remain  independent  much  longer  after  this: 
the  brilliant  victory  obtained  by  the  Romans  over  the  Cimbri  and 
Teutons,  and  the  gradual  advance  of  the  Roman  eagles  across  the 
Alps,  menaced  their  freedom;  divided,  scattered,  and  incapable  of 
founding  any  durable  state,  they  became  an  easy  prey  to  the  war- 
like conquerors  of  the  world.  The  Romans  had  already  found  a 
footing  at  Geneva  by  conquering  the  country  of  the  Allobroges, 
when  the  Helvetians,  remembering  the  sunny  lands  of  southern 
Gaul,  wishing  to  avoid  the  continual  aggressions  made  upon  them 
by  Teutonic  hordes  from  the  north,  and  also  incited  by  their  am- 
bitious chief,  Orgetorix,  migrated  afresh,  under  the  leadership  of 
Divico,  on  March  28,  58  b.  c,  after  having  set  fire  to  all  their 
twelve  towns  and  four  hundred  villages.  Notwithstanding  their 
valiant  resistance,  they  were  defeated  by  Caesar,  then  engaged  in 
the  conquest   of   Gaul,   at   Bibracte    (Mount   Beuvrais,   west   of 


8S0  SWITZERLAND 

1000  B.C.-750  A.O. 

Autun).  The  survivors  were  sent  back  home  by  him,  as  Roman 
subjects,  to  defend  the  Rhine  frontier  against  the  Teutons.  In  the 
following  year  Valais  was  brought  into  subjection  by  one  of 
Caesar's  generals,  and  about  forty  years  later,  in  15  B.C.,  the  wild 
Rhaetian  tribes,  who  had  frequently  ravaged  the  valley  of  the  Po, 
succumbed  to  the  might  of  the  Romao  legions,  and  the  persistence 
of  Drusus  and  Tiberius,  the  stepsons  of  the  Emperor  Augustus. 

The  Celts  of  the  land  were  thus  subjected  to  the  Romans, 
and  their  own  national  development  was  entirely  arrested.  They 
have  left  a  durable  heritage  behind  them,  inasmuch  as  a  number 
of  places,  which  have  now  grown  into  flourishing  towns,  owe  their 
origin  to  them,  as  for  instance,  Geneva,  Lausanne,  Avenches,  So- 
leure,  Zurich,  Basle,  and  Coire;  many  mountains  and  rivers  also 
received  their  present  names  from  them,  as  the  Jura,  Albis,  Kamor, 
and  Sentis;  the  Rhine,  Toss,  Thur,  Rhone,  and  Reuss. 

The  Celts  did  not  attain  to  any  high  or  lasting  degree  of  civil- 
ization; the  neighboring  tribes  of  the  Helvetians  in  especial  eked 
out  a  miserable  and  unquiet  existence,  the  Rhsetians  and  Allobroges 
led  a  wild  life  of  war  and  pillage;  moreover,  the  country  was  as 
yet  only  partially  cultivated,  the  valley  of  the  Rhine  toward  the 
Lake  of  Constance  still  consisting  of  wild  and  impenetrable  forest 
and  marsh  land. 

The  Romans  brought  with  them  a  more  refined  civilization, 
the  product  of  southern  soil.  In  the  course  of  the  conquest  the 
political  and  military  organizations  were  formed  as  follows:  The 
territory  conquered  by  Caesar  and  before  his  time  formed  a  part  of 
Gaul,  while  the  country  of  the  Allobroges  was  united  to  the  prov- 
ince of  Narbonne  (Provence),  that  of  the  Sequani,  Raurici,  and 
Helvetians  to  Belgian  Gaul ;  the  southeast,  however,  formed  a  part 
of  the  province  of  Rhaetia,  including  what  are  now  Bavaria  and 
the  Tyrol;  the  "Valais"  (meaning  "valley")  was  at  first  con- 
sidered part  of  Rhaetia,  but  afterward  formed  a  separate  province 
on  account  of  its  isolated  position.  Every  several  territory  had 
its  own  provincial  governor;  various  subordinate  officials  came 
into  the  country  to  collect  taxes  and  tolls  and  to  command  the 
garrisons.  Custom-houses  were  established  at  all  places  of  com- 
mercial importance  on  the  frontiers,  at  Zurich  (Turicum),  St. 
Maurice,  and  other  places.  The  conquered  people  were  not,  on 
the  whole,  oppressed,  and  the  Romans  did  their  utmost  to  accom- 
modate their  arrangements  to  existing  conditions.    The  Helve- 


ANCIENT     HISTORY  881 

1000  B.C.-750  A.D. 

tians,  for  instance,  still,  as  hitherto,  formed  a  separate  community, 
as  did  the  Allobroges  and  others,  and  the  division  into  counties 
was  preserved.  Aventicum  (Avenches)  and  Augusta  Rauricorum 
(Basel-augst)  both  became  towns  after  the  Italian  style;  they  had 
their  own  mayor  and  their  municipal  council ;  both  were,  like  Nyon 
(Noviodunum),  colonies  with  Roman  rights;  Octodurum  (Mar- 
tigny)  had  a  purely  civic  constitution.  Aventicum  was  still  the 
chief  town  of  the  Helvetians,  and  its  senate  formed  the  central 
Helvetic  authority. 

The  Helvetians  soon  took  an  active  part  in  the  development  of 
the  empire,  but  amid  the  disorders  of  the  civil  war  after  Nero's 
death  in  68-69  a.d.  they  drew  upon  themselves  a  total  defeat  by 
embracing  the  cause  of  Galba:  Alienus  Cacina,  lieutenant-general 
of  Galba's  rival  Vitellius,  routed  them  at  the  Bozerg  (near  Baden), 
took  Aventicum  the  capital,  and  put  Julius  Alpinus,^  the  leader  of 
the  revolt,  to  death;  further  chastisement  was  only  averted  by 
the  persuasive  eloquence  of  Cossus,  the  Helvetic  envoy.  With  this 
exception  the  vanquished  peoples  of  the  land  seem  to  have  enjoyed 
a  peaceful  quietude.  The  Romans  were  more  concerned  about 
military  precautions  toward  the  north  than  about  the  enjoyment  of 
their  supremacy.  To  this  end  a  line  of  fortresses  was  constructed 
along  the  course  of  the  Rhine  (Arbon,  Stein,  Zurzach,  Basel-augst, 
and  others).  The  military  center  was  at  Windisch  (Vindonissa), 
which,  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Aar  and  the  Reuss  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Rhine,  formed  a  natural  defense  and  an  excellent 
strategic  center.  Out  of  the  three  legions  which  served  to  protect 
the  frontier  of  the  Upper  Rhine  of  Gaul  against  the  Teutons,  one 
had  their  camp  at  Windisch.  Military  roads  were  made  for  mili- 
tary communication.  Two  of  these  led  from  Italy  northward,  one 
over  the  great  St.  Bernard  through  Lower  Valais,  by  Aventicum 
and  Soleure  to  Basel-augst ;  the  other  over  the  passes  of  the  Grisons 
to  Coire,  and  through  the  Rheintal  along  the  Lake  of  Constance  to 
Bregenz.  They  were  united  in  the  north  by  a  road  leading  from 
Basel-augst  through  Windisch,  over  Winterthur  (Vitudurum), 
Pfin  (Ad  fines)  to  Arbon  and  Bregenz.  The  garrisons  and  for- 
tresses were  mostly  occupied  by  foreign  troops. 

This  military  organization  soon  underwent  a  change,  as  in 
the  time  of  the  Emperor  Domitian  or  Trajan,  about  100  a.d., 

*The  story  of  Julia  Alpinula,  his  supposed  daughter,  rests  upon  a  gross 
falsification  of  an  inscription. 


332  SWITZERLAND 

1000    B.C.-750   A.D. 

when  the  adjacent  territory  beyond  the  Rhine  nearly  as  far  as  the 
Danube  was  united  to  the  Roman  empire,  and  the  frontier  troops 
were  also  pushed  forward.  The  land  of  the  Helvetians  was  now 
free  from  troops  for  150  years,  and  seems  to  have  remained  undis- 
turbed by  any  war,  a  condition  of  things  particularly  favorable  to 
the  development  of  Roman  civilization. 

To  meet  the  military  requirements,  workshops,  inns,  and 
towns  were  established.  The  veterans,  who  were  discharged  sol- 
diers, built  themselves  many  villas  or  country  houses  after  the 
Roman  style,  with  splendid  mosaics  and  frescoes,  baths,  and  like 
luxuries  and  adornments.  In  Baden  or  Aquae  (Canton  Aargau) 
public  baths  were  established  of  great  size  and  magnificence,  and 
became  much  frequented.  Romans  betook  themselves  thither  in 
numbers.  The  miserable  conditions  of  the  Celtic  period  vanished 
by  degrees  before  Roman  civilization ;  roads  were  made  across  the 
Alps,  over  the  Julier,  Spliigen,  Septimer,  and  St.  Bernard;  even 
across  the  wild  forest  and  marshland  of  the  Rheintal  and  around 
the  Lake  of  Constance  a  passable  and  broad  road  was  constructed 
by  the  energy  of  Rome.  Commerce  developed  rapidly;  various 
products  found  their  way  from  the  north  of  France  and  Germany 
through  Switzerland  to  Italy,  and  the  products  of  the  country  most 
esteemed  by  the  Romans,  such  as  cheese,  wax,  honey,  pinewood, 
and  resin,  were  likewise  exported.  The  wares  of  the  south  were 
in  return  brought  into  the  country,  such  as  oil,  oysters,  and  wine; 
and  vineyards  were  planted  around  the  Lake  of  Geneva  and  in  the 
Pays  de  Vaud.  With  Roman  civilization  their  pompous  state 
religion  was  also  introduced,  and  the  rude  rites  of  the  Celtic  wor- 
ship almost  disappeared.  Roman  culture  exercised  a  salutary 
influence  even  over  the  dispositions  and  habits  of  the  people:  the 
Allobroges  now  exchanged  the  sword  for  the  plow,  the  predatory 
Rhaetians  adopted  gentler  habits,  and  conducted  the  traveler  and 
his  sumpter  mule,  whom  formerly  they  would  have  robbed,  peace- 
ably across  the  mountains,  or  employed  themselves  in  agriculture 
and  Alpine  farming.  In  the  larger  towns,  such  as  Aventicum  and 
Augusta,  the  Celts  learned  divers  arts  and  crafts  from  their  Roman 
masters. 

Thus  was  the  foundation  laid  of  an  entirely  new  development. 
Roman  civilization  took  much  deeper  and  more  lasting  root  in 
what  is  now  western  Switzerland  than  it  did  further  eastward 
The  former  lying  in  close  proximity  to  the  southern  part  of  Gaul, 


ANCIENT     HISTORY  88S 

1000  B.C.-750  A.D. 

which  had  become  altogether  Roman,  Roman  colonies  sprang  up, 
forming  centers  of  culture.  Here  the  manners  of  Rome  were 
adopted,  as  also  her  arts  and  learning.  Aventicum,  about  ten  times 
as  large  as  the  modern  Avenches,  surrounded  by  walls,  protected 
by  between  eighty  and  ninety  towers,  had  an  amphitheater  for 
gladiatorial  contests,  a  theater,  a  temple,  a  triumphal  arch,  a  public 
gymnasium,  trade  guilds,  and  even  an  academy  with  Roman  pro- 
fessors. The  magnificent  capitals  of  columns,  friezes,  and  orna- 
ments which  have  been  found  there  prove  that  they  had  attained  to 
great  perfection  in  Italian  art.  The  Celtic  language  and  customs, 
which  the  few  colonists  in  eastern  Switzerland  were  insufficient  to 
expel,  vanished  in  the  west  before  those  of  Rome,  and  the  Latin 
tongue  took  such  firm  root  that  it  withstood  the  storms  of  migra- 
tion, and  is  still  preserved,  though  in  a  modified  form,  in  western 
Switzerland  and  Lower  Valais,  while  the  Roman  culture  of  the 
eastern  parts  being  but  little  disseminated  and  little  developed, 
crumbled  like  a  rotten  edifice  under  the  blows  of  the  German 
conquerors. 

But  the  golden  age  of  Roman  civilization  lasted  barely  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  in  Switzerland.  As  early  as  the  third  century  the 
Roman  empire  began  to  totter  before  the  advance  of  the  hardy 
Teuton.  Amid  the  universal  ruin  under  Gallienus,  about  260  a.d., 
the  Alamanni,  a  Teutonic  tribe,  overran  Switzerland  and  burned 
beautiful  Aventicum  to  the  ground,  to  lie  thenceforth  almost  in 
ashes.  The  Romans  were  forced  to  cede  the  frontier  of  the  Danube, 
and  to  withdraw  behind  the  Rhine,  and  the  old  fortresses  along  the 
Rhine  from  Basel-augst  to  Arbon  became  once  more  Roman  points 
of  defense.  Repeatedly  destroyed,  they  were  always  rebuilt  and 
fortified  afresh,  as  were  Oberwinterthur  and  Stein  under  Diocle- 
tian and  Maximian,  about  3CKD  a.  d.  ;  several  emperors  (Constantine 
Chlorus,  Julian,  Valentinian  L,  and  Gratian)  achieved  passing  suc- 
cesses in  their  advances  through  northern  Switzerland;  public 
buildings,  bridges,  and  roads  were  from  time  to  time  repaired,  and 
in  374  Basle,  the  "  royal  city,"  arose  at  the  great  bend  of  the  Rhine. 
But  no  imperial  hand  could  long  protect  the  empire  from  the 
youthful  daring  of  the  Alamanni ;  the  latter  had  already  established 
themselves  in  Alsace  and  on  the  Lake  of  Constance,  and  were 
striving  for  the  possession  of  Switzerland;  the  inhabitants  fled  in 
terror  from  their  property,  buried  their  most  treasured  possessions, 
hoping  to  enjoy  them  again  in  better  days,  or  migrated  to  the 


834»  SWITZERLAND 

1000    B.C.-750   A.D. 

south;  the  empire,  meanwhile,  divided  and  enfeebled,  was  sinking 
fast. 

This  period  of  the  decline  of  the  Roman  empire  was  not  with- 
out beneficent  effects  in  other  ways.  As  early  as  the  second  century 
Christianity,  with  its  world-regenerating  moral  and  religious  prin- 
ciples, began  to  develop  into  the  religion  of  the  world;  amid  the 
universal  decay,  when  all  things  seemed  to  fotter,  it  became  the 
anchor  of  hope  to  which  thousands  joyfully  clung.  By  the  many 
roads  made  by  the  Romans  the  trade  of  Gaul  and  Italy  reached 
Swiss  territory,  beginning  in  200-300  a.d.  at  Geneva,  Valais,  and 
Rhaetia;  an  official  Christian  inscription  has  been  found  in  Valais 
dating  from  the  year  377.  From  these  districts  Christianity  pene- 
trated into  the  interior,  being  chiefly  propagated  by  legionaries,  by 
whose  instrumentality  it  probably  reached  Zurich  from  Italy  by 
way  of  Rhsetia.  Bishoprics  were  soon  established  in  the  larger 
Roman  towns,  Geneva,  Aventicum,  Basel-augst,  Windisch  (after- 
ward Constance),  Octodurum  (Martigny),  and  Coire.  But  Chris- 
tianity only  gained  the  victory  after  many  hardships  and  struggles, 
the  natural  clinging  to  an  ancient  faith  and  the  power  and  might  of 
the  religion  of  the  Romans  forming  obstacles  hard  to  overcome. 
The  Roman  emperors  necessarily  looked  upon  Christianity  as  hos- 
tile to  the  state;  their  governors  were  enjoined  to  hinder  its  prog- 
ress, and  in  the  third  century  violent  persecutions  began.  The 
most  severe  and  extensive — under  Diocletian,  303-304  a.  d. — seems 
to  have  extended  to  what  is  now  Switzerland,  for  Christian  tradi- 
tion tells  of  several  martyrs  of  that  time,  mostly  Christian  legion- 
aries, such  as  the  "  Thebans  "  St.  Maurice  and  his  fellows  at  St. 
Maurice,  Ursus  and  Victor  at  Soleure,  Felix  and  Regula  at  Zurich, 
all  of  whom  firmly  refused  to  sacrifice  to  idols,  and  were  put  to 
death  amid  excruciating  tortures.  The  fame  of  these  Christian 
martyrs  surrounded  the  Christian  churches  of  these  places  with  a 
halo  of  sanctity,  and  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  Christian  church ; 
without  the  luster  shed  by  the  honored  martyrs  the  ideal  seeds  of 
religious  life  sown  by  Christianity  would  hardly  have  survived  the 
wild  storms  of  this  and  the  following  periods. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  the  obstinate  struggle 
between  the  Roman  and  the  Teuton  was  finally  decided  entirely  in 
favor  of  the  latter.  In  order  to  defend  the  heart  of  the  distressed 
empire,  garrisons  were  withdrawn  from  the  Rhine  to  Italy,  and  the 
Rhine  frontier  was  thus  left  exposed.      Consequently,  when  the 


I 


ANCIENT     HISTORY  885 

1000  B.C.-750  A.D. 

great  migration  of  tribes  set  in  at  the  end  of  406  a.d.,  pouring 
from  Germany  toward  the  southwest,  the  Alamanni  crossed  the 
Rhine  on  the  night  of  New  Year's  Eve,  as  is  said,  and  the  wild 
storm  of  devastation  ruthlessly  swept  away  the  last  vestiges  of 
Roman  culture.  In  the  succeeding  years  the  Alamanni  advanced 
nearly  to  the  Rhsetian  Alps  (Grisons),  and  by  the  middle  of  the 
century  Roman  supremacy  was  at  an  end  in  the  northeast  of 
Switzerland.  Besides  this  territory,  the  Alamanni,  like  the  Hel- 
vetians of  former  times,  held  the  country  between  the  Rhine  and 
the  Main,  as  also  Alsace.  Roman  manners  and  the  Roman  tongue 
continued  only  in  the  rocky  districts  of  Rhaetia  and  in  the  south- 
west of  Switzerland,  being  protected  in  the  former  by  the  moun- 
tains, and  having  taken  deep  root  in  the  latter.  But  in  neither  of 
these  parts  was  the  Roman  speech  preserved  in  its  purity ;  for  while 
in  Rhaetia  it  mingled  with  the  Celtic  (Rhaetian)  tongue,  in  the 
southwest  a  Teutonic  element  was  introduced  by  the  Burgundians. 
These  latter  had  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  Alamanni;  in  vain 
they  had  sought  a  new  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  around 
Worms :  their  realm  was  laid  waste  by  the  Romans  and  the  Huns ; 
they  subsequently  pushed  southward,  and  in  443  a.d.  received  "  Sa- 
baudia  "  from  the  hands  of  ^tius  the  Roman,  i.  e.,  Savoy  as  far 
as  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  Lower  Valais  and  the  southeastern  part  of 
Vaud;  they  extended  their  territory  considerably  to  the  west  and 
south,  embracing  Provence,  Besangon,  and  Langres;  the  Saane 
probably  formed  their  eastern  boundary.  The  Burgundians  drove 
the  Alamanni  out  of  west  Switzerland  eastward.  The  kingdom 
flourished  under  King  Gundobad,  who  in  the  year  500  thrust  out 
his  brother  and  ruled  alone,  and  who  sought  by  wise  laws  to 
civilize  his  people  and  to  amalgamate  them  with  the  Romans. 

The  Alamanni  and  Burgundians  met  with  very  different  con- 
ditions in  their  new  land,  and  established  themselves  in  quite 
different  ways.  During  their  fierce  struggles  of  almost  two 
centuries  the  Alamanni  had  conceived  a  deep  hatred  of  the  Romans. 
At  the  time  of  their  conquest  the  population  was  thin  and  civiliza- 
tion at  a  low  ebb;  thus  they  were  free  from  all  Roman  influence, 
and  might  settle  down  in  their  own  fashion.  They  therefore  took 
possession  of  the  already  Christianized  land  as  pagans,  sword  in 
hand,  effaced  almost  every  trace  of  Roman  civilization  which  still 
existed,  and  killed  or  enslaved  the  former  inhabitants.  They  thus 
fully  established  a  purely  German  mode  of  life,  which  has  con- 


336  SWITZERLAND 

1000    B.C.-750   A.D. 

tinued  to  this  day.  Their  settlements  were  made  altogether  in  old 
German  style:  relatives,  families,  and  individuals  settled  wherever 
they  pleased,  attracted  by  some  spring,  field,  or  forest.  They 
scorned  to  live  like  Romans,  in  towns  and  attached  houses,  pre- 
ferring open  villages  and  hamlets,  or,  better  still,  scattered  farm- 
steads, where  each  man  surrounded  his  dwelling  with  a  courtyard 
and  a  hedge,  then  called  an  "  etter,"  such  as  may  yet  be  seen  in 
Appenzell  and  Toggenburg.  The  name  of  the  first  founder  of  the 
farmstead  was  afterward  transferred  to  the  place  itself,  hence  the 
many  place-names  derived  from  the  names  of  persons  or  families 
ending  in  wiler,  wily  hofen,  hausen,  etc.,  from  weiler,  a  hamlet, 
hof,  2l  farm,  and  haus,  a  house:  e.  g.,  Barentswil  (from  Beroltes- 
zvilare),  i.  e.,  "  Berolt's  hamlet,"  and  Irgenhusen  (from  Iringes- 
husa)  i.  e.j  "  at  the  house  of  Iring." 

With  the  Burgundians  it  was  quite  different.  These  latter 
stood  in  more  friendly  relations  to  the  Romans  than  did  the 
Alamanni;  they  obtained  their  land  by  a  formal  treaty,  and  shared 
it  also  peaceably  with  a  number  of  Romans,  the  Burgundians  re- 
ceiving two-thirds  of  every  house  or  farm,  and  of  all  arable  lands 
and  servants.  In  west  Switzerland  they  were  confronted  by  a  far 
more  fully  developed  civilization,  respected  and  esteemed  Roman 
ways,  lived  together  in  Roman  fashion  in  enclosed  towns  or 
boroughs,  and  were  soon  merged  into  one  nation  with  the  Romans, 
as  had  been  the  case  with  the  Franks,  thus  forming  the  basis  of  the 
Romance  or  French  character. 

But  in  spite  of  these  important  differences,  the  two  races  had 
certain  political  and  social  principles  and  institutions  in  common, 
such  as  the  systematical  division  of  "  districts  "  and  "  hundreds  " 
{centence),  the  legal  constitution  (Wergeld),^  popular  assemblies, 
and  the  divisions  of  rank,  viz.,  freemen,  subdivided  into  nobles 
(primi),  landowners  (medii),  and  freemen  without  land  (mino- 
Hidi) ;  freedmen  (liti),  and  serfs  or  bondmen;  as  well  as  affairs 
relating  to  the  community  in  general,  the  Almend,*  Mark,^  and  the 
Markgenossenschaft.' 

2 1.  e.,  the  fine  which  a  murderer  was  obliged  to  pay  to  the  kindred  of  his 
victim.  This  was  regulated  according  to  the  rank  of  the  person  injured;  a 
higher  "  Wergeld "  was  set  upon  freemen  than  upon  serfs,  and  the  clergy  and 
nobles  were  more  highly  valued  than  ordinary  freemen. 

'  Undivided  land  surrounding  a  settlement. 

*  The  boundary  between  two  settlements. 

»  The  "  Association  of  the  Mark." 


ANCIENT    HISTORY  887 

1000  B.C. -750  A.D. 

The  development  of  this  new  state  was  by  no  means  free  and 
unrestrained;  the  Teutonic  peoples  soon  turned  their  arms  against 
one  another,  and  another  Teutonic  race,  the  Franks,  succeeded,  by 
their  own  energy  and  by  a  skillful  use  of  their  opportunities  in 
gaining  the  supremacy  over  the  others.  The  Alamanni  were  first 
overthrown  by  Clovis,  in  496  a.  d.,  in  a  battle  on  the  Upper  Rhine, 

Internal  dissensions  soon  brought  about  the  fall  of  the  Bur- 
gundians.  Notwithstanding  the  zealous  efforts  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  clergy,  the  Burgundians  obstinately  adhered  to  their 
Arian  faith,  Gundobad  declaring  emphatically  that  he  "  would  not 
have  two  gods,"  because  according  to  Catholic  teaching  Christ  was 
a  Divine  Being,  who  had  existed  from  everlasting,  equal  with  God 
the  Father,  while  according  to  Arianism  he  was  dependent  upon 
God  the  Father  and  subject  unto  Him.  The  dispute  became 
keener,  when  after  the  conversion  of  the  Frankish  king  Clovis  to 
Catholic  Christianity,  after  the  Kettle  against  the  Alamanni,  the 
Roman  Catholics  fixed  their  hopes  upon  this  enterprising  prince; 
and  Gundobad's  own  son  Sigismund  went  over  to  the  Catholics. 
Clovis  made  encroachments  even  in  Gundobad's  time,  and  after  the 
death  of  the  latter  in  516  the  confusion  increased,  and  in  532  the 
sons  of  Clovis  completely  routed  the  Bungundians  in  the  battle  of 
Autun.  Some  years  later,  in  536,  Coire-Rhaetia  was  ceded  to  the 
Franks  by  the  Ostrogoths,  to  whose  empire  it  had  belonged,  and 
the  Merovingians  now  reigned  supreme  throughout  Switzerland. 

The  Franks  encouraged  the  continuance  of  native  institutions. 
Coire-Rhaetia  remained,  as  before,  subject  to  a  prases  chosen  by  the 
people  as  chief  magistrate  and  administrator,  and  from  the  end  of 
the  sixth  century  for  a  period  of  almost  two  hundred  years  this 
office  remained  hereditary  in  the  hands  of  the  family  of  the  so- 
called  Victorides,  who  even  acquired  the  bishopric  of  Coire,  and 
the  customs  of  Coire-Rhaetia  remained  undisturbed.  Burgundy, 
too,  had  its  own  organization  and  administration.  The  Alamanni 
likewise  retained  their  dukes  and  their  national  rights;  these  were, 
however,  renewed  and  extended,  in  accordance  with  Christianity, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century  under  Clotaire  IV.,  king  of 
the  Franks,  and  were  greatly  expanded  in  favor  of  the  church. 
The  Franks  also  introduced  the  county  system  and  royalties. 

At  this  period  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Franks  the  propaga- 
tion of  Christian  culture  divides  itself  naturally  among  the  three 
races.      In  this  respect  western   Switzerland  once  more  had  the 


SWITZERLAND 

1000    B.C.-750   A.D. 

advantage  over  the  eastern  parts,  as  had  been  the  case  in  the  time 
of  the  Celts  and  Romans.  For  by  its  position  Burgundy  was 
naturally  the  first  to  feel  the  impulse  given  to  Catholic  Christianity 
in  Gaul.  Soon  after  St.  Martin  had  introduced  a  great  revival  into 
the  monastic  life  of  Gaul,  about  the  year  5CX),  the  two  brothers 
Romanus  and  Lupicinus  arrived  in  the  wooded  mountains  of  the 
Jura,  and  led  there  a  life  full  of  strict  self-denial  and  earnest  medi- 
tation. Romanus  probably  gave  rise  to  the  foundation  of  the 
famous  monastery  of  Romainmotier  (Canton  Vaud).  The  sister 
foundation  of  Condat  in  the  French  Jura  (St.  Claude)  was  a 
nursery  of  cultured  life ;  from  it,  "  as  from  a  beehive,"  says  the 
biographer  of  Romanus,  "  sped  hosts  of  missionaries  and  teachers 
in  all  direction,"  who  brought  the  land  under  cultivation,  founded 
monasteries  and  schools,  and  encouraged  learning.  Beside  Condat 
and  Romainmotier  there  flourished  the  monastery  of  St.  Maurice 
in  the  Valais,  founded  by  a  bishop  in  honor  of  the  "  Thebans," 
and  enlarged  in  515  by  the  Burgundian  King  Sigismund.  Octo- 
durum  (Martigny)  and  Aventicum  had  hitherto  formed  the  center 
of  church  life;  when,  however,  Aventicum  fell  into  decay,  the  seat 
of  the  bishopric  was  removed  to  beautiful  Lausanne  (about  580), 
and  that  of  Martigny  to  Sion.  Bishop  Marius,  who  conferred  this 
favor  upon  Lausanne,  encouraged  Roman  education,  and  found 
time  in  the  midst  of  other  labors  to  write  a  chronicle ;  it  was  he,  too, 
who  laid  the  foundation  of  the  town  of  Payerne. 

The  Frankish  kings  and  their  clergy  did  their  utmost  to 
spread  Christianity  among  the  Alamanni.  According  to  a  some- 
what doubtful  tradition,  St.  Fridolin  is  said  to  have  gone  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  Alamannia,  under  the  protection  of  Clovis  himself;  he 
founded  Sackingen,  and  the  Tal  Glarua,  which  was  soon  united 
to  Sackingen,  honors  him  as  its  patron  saint.  The  greatest 
influence  over  the  Alamanni  was  exercised  by  Irish  monks,  who 
devoted  themselves  to  their  missionary  labors  with  youthful  en- 
thusiasm and  heroic  self-sacrifice.  Columban  with  his  fellows, 
driven  out  of  Gaul,  came  to  the  Lake  of  Zurich  about  610.  With 
fervent  zeal  he  disturbed  the  pagans  at  Tuggen  in  the  midst  of  their 
sacrifice,  barely  escaped  being  stoned  to  death,  and  proceeded  to 
Arbon  and  Bregenz,  Roman  stations  on  the  Lake  of  Constance, 
where  he  found  Christians  already,  and  a  Christian  minister  in  the 
midst  of  the  heathen.  Here,  too,  excess  of  zeal  against  pagan  rites 
brought  him  and  his  companions  into  great  peril;  Columban  es- 


ANCIENT     HISTORY  839 

1000  B.C.-750  A.D. 

caped  into  Italy;  Gallus,  one  of  his  disciples,  remained  behind  on 
account  of  sickness,  built  himself  a  cell,  in  614,  on  the  wilds  of 
Steinach,  regardless  of  danger,  gathered  disciples  and  thus  formed 
an  oasis  in  the  desert.  Afterward,  in  720,  Othmar  founded  on  the 
spot  the  Benedictine  monastery  of  St.  Gall,  destined  to  become  a 
beacon  of  Christian  culture  illuminating  the  land.  The  activity  of 
Columban  and  his  companions  had  a  far-reaching  effect,  extending 
as  far  as  western  Switzerland  and  Rhaetia ;  disciples  and  followers 
from  both  those  parts  founded  the  monasteries  of  Granval  in  the 
Bernese  Jura,  St.  Ursanne  on  the  Doubs,  and  Dissentis  in  the 
valley  of  the  Upper  Rhine.  Pirminius,  a  native  of  the  Grisons 
mountains,  founded  Pfaffers  in  720  and  also  Reichenau.  Such 
foundations  were  everywhere  followed  by  cultivation  of  land, 
clearing  of  forests,  and  encouragement  of  learning.  The  ecclesi- 
astical organization  of  Alamannia  had  also  by  this  time  become 
more  settled.  After  the  decay  of  Vindonissa,  Constance  became 
the  ecclesiastical  center  of  northeastern  and  central  Switzerland. 
And  the  more  Christianity  was  favored  by  those  in  authority,  so. 
much  the  more  the  ground  gave  way  under  the  feet  of  paganism. 


Chapter  II 

UNION  UNDER  CARLOVINGIAN  AND   GERMAN   RULE 

750-1057 

THE  Merovingians  soon  proved  unequal  to  the  great  task 
of  governing  their  realm;  they  were  mostly  incapable 
weaklings,  and  the  kingdom  fell  to  pieces.  The  German 
family  of  Carlovingians,  which  originally  held  only  the  rank  of 
mayors  of  the  palace,  thereupon  rose  more  and  more  into  power, 
and  in  751  dispossessed  the  Merovingians.  The  new  dynasty 
abolished  the  dukedom  of  Alamannia  and  took  the  country  under 
their  immediate  control.  The  same  alteration  took  place  with 
regard  to  Burgundy  and  Coire-Rhsetia,  and  thus,  about  800,  the 
■whole  land  became  a  province  and  an  integral  part  of  the  empire  of 
Charlemange. 

The  uniform  organization  which  was  now  introduced  into 
every  one  of  the  different  parts  furthered  a  general  development 
and  cohesion.  The  whole  land  was  still  divided  into  counties  ac- 
cording to  older  local  institutions.  The  most  important  counties 
were:  Thurgau  (comprising  northeastern  Switzerland),  Ziirich- 
gau,  Aargau,  Augstgau,  Vaud,  Valais,  Coire,  and  Geneva.  The 
counts  were  royal  governors,  who  administered  justice  and  mus- 
tered troops  in  the  king's  name.  The  feudal  system  also  now  came 
into  existence.  In  Rhsetia,  too,  bishops  and  counts  gathered 
around  themselves  a  following  of  liegemen,  to  whom  they  granted 
lands,  privileges,  and  offices,  and  who  in  their  turn  had  their  owoi 
servants  and  vassals.  Charles  alone  was  able  to  avert  the  fatal 
results  of  this  system.  It  is  chiefly  after  his  time  that  the  influen- 
tial position  of  the  church  becomes  noticeable.  The  clergy  grad- 
ually acquired  great  temporal  riches  by  donations  and  enfeoff- 
ments. Charles  assigned  them  tithes  as  a  source  of  regular  in- 
come. He  specially  favored  bishops;  the  bishops  of  Coire  and 
Basle  were  befriended  by  him ;  by  the  help  of  Charles  the  Bishop 
of  Constance  was  enabled  to  maintain  his  claims  against  the  mon- 
astery of  St.  Gall,  which  had  been  obliged  to  resist  the  pretensions 

340 


I 


CARLOVINGIAN     AND     GERMAN         341 

750-843 

of  the  bishops  even  in  the  time  of  Pepin :  St.  Gall  was  now  forced 
to  pay  a  yearly  tribute  to  Constance  in  token  of  dependence. 
Charles  also  encouraged  the  clergy  in  their  custom  of  living  to- 
gether (canons) ;  the  management  of  the  Institute  of  Canons 
(Chorherrenstift)  of  Zurich  seems  to  have  been  settled  by  his  or- 
ders, and  the  canons  of  the  Grossmiinster  always  thenceforth  hon- 
ored him  as  their  patron,  and  even,  erroneously,  as  their  founder. 
Zurich  tradition,  however,  rightly  reveres  him  as  the  first  founder 
of  the  cathedral  school  or  Carolinum,  and  has  kept  his  unbounded 
administrative  activity  in  well-deserved  remembrance.  Tradition 
speaks  of  a  house  called  the  "  House  of  the  Hole  "  ("  Zum  Loch  ") 
where  a  snake  begged  for  his  aid  against  a  toad,  and  to  this  day 
the  statue  of  the  incomparable  emperor  adorns  the  Grossmiinster, 
with  the  sword  of  justice  on  his  knees,  like  a  patron  protecting  the 
town.  His  grandson,  Louis  the  German,  afterward,  in  853, 
founded  the  abbey  in  Zurich  called  the  Fraumiinster,  and  be- 
stowed upon  it  his  estates  in  the  little  canton  of  Uri,  and  many 
other  possessions. 

At  Charles'  instigation  a  life  of  learning  was  roused  into 
activity  in  the  religious  houses  and  everywhere  among  the  clergy. 
Bishop  Hatto,  of  Basle,  issued  orders  commanding  priests  to  col- 
lect books;  the  monastery  of  Reichenau  had  already  a  considerable 
library,  and  was  in  a  very  flourishing  condition.  At  this  time 
agriculture,  trade,  and  commerce  also  made  great  progress  under 
the  splendid  legislation  and  excellent  administration  of  the  em- 
peror. The  position  of  freemen  was  protected,  and  the  nobility 
were  kept  in  check. 

Thus  Switzerland  also  benefited  by  the  many-sided  creative 
and  organizing  activity  of  the  emperor.  But  after  his  death  in 
814  the  uniform  administration  collapsed,  and  manifold  differences 
arose. 

The  county  system  was  dissolved.  The  counties  became 
hereditary  fiefs  in  the  hands  of  powerful  families ;  numerous  epis- 
copal and  monastic  churches  received  "  immunity "  or  freedom 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  courts,  and  established  their  own  courts  of 
justice,  as  St.  Gall,  Pfaffers,  the  Fraumiinster  of  Zurich  and 
Coire.  A  reaction  against  enforced  uniformity  also  set  in  on  the 
part  of  the  various  races  and  divisions  of  the  empire.  The  imme- 
diate result  of  this  reaction  was  the  division  of  the  empire  by  the 
Treaty  of  Verdun  in  843;  the  present  German  or  Alamannian 


34«  SWITZERLAND 

843-920 

Switzerland,  with  Coire-Rhaetia,  went  to  Louis  the  German  and 
his  empire  of  the  East  Franks;  western  Switzerland  and  Valais  to 
Lothaire  and  his  "  Middle  Empire,"  and  afterward  to  the  empire 
of  the  West  Franks.  Thus  Burgundy  and  Alamannia  remained 
for  a  long  time  separate,  and  soon  formed  themselves  into  separate 
states.  In  the  confusion  caused  by  the  fall  of  the  Carlovingian 
dynasty,  Burgundian  Switzerland  came  into  the  Guelph  family, 
and  Rudolf  L  succeeded  in  establishing  himself  as  an  almost  inde- 
pendent prince  in  the  country  between  the  Jura,  the  Lake  of 
Geneva,  and  the  Alps.  In  January,  888,  he  was  made  king  at  St. 
Maurice  of  a  realm  extending  as  far  as  Basle.  Fierce  struggles  in 
Alamannia  were  followed  by  a  like  result.  Count  Burkhard  of 
Rhsetia,  aspiring  to  become  a  duke,  was  prevented  by  two  ambi- 
tious officers  of  the  Thurgau  exchequer,  Erchanger  and  Berchtold, 
and  by  Salomon  III.,  the  crafty  Bishop  of  Constance  and  Abbot  of 
St.  Gall,  and  was  slain  at  a  diet  in  911.  His  young  son  of  the 
same  name  profited  by  a  dispute  between  the  bishop  and  the  officers 
of  the  exchequer  to  make  a  faction  for  himself,  and  finally  obtained 
the  ducal  rank  in  917,  the  officers  having  been  overthrown  by  the 
bishop.  Thus  arose  the  dukedom  of  Alamannia  or  Suabia,  which 
lasted  till  the  thirteenth  century. 

The  people  suffered  much  at  this  time.  Not  only  did  the 
neighboring  predatory  peoples  of  the  Hungarians,  and  the  Sara- 
cens from  the  south  of  France,  begin  to  make  raids  upon  the  land, 
to  penetrate  into  towns,  villages,  and  monasteries,  to  devastate  the 
fields  and  interrupt  traffic,  but  among  themselves  feuds  and  civil 
wars  raged.  The  haughty  nobles  strove  one  against  another,  and 
the  peasants  were  unprotected.  The  condition  of  the  freemen 
became  worse  and  worse ;  they  either  yielded  themselves  as  vassals 
or  copyhold  tenants  to  some  temp>oral  or  spiritual  lord  or  else 
became  bondmen  and  freedmen  of  the  nobility.  A  powerful  aris- 
tocracy was  gradually  developed. 

During  this  dissolution  of  political  conditions,  about  the  end 
of  the  ninth  and  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century,  ecclesiastical 
learning  developed  greatly.  The  more  wealthy  monasteries  of 
Reichenau,  Rheinau,  St.  Gall,  and  Zurich,  which  had  become  inde- 
pendent domains,  cultivated  the  intellectual  life  which  had  been 
awakened  in  the  time  of  Charles  the  Great.  The  monastery  of  St. 
Gall  specially  distinguished  itself.  It  set  itself  free  from  all  de- 
pendence upon  the  bishops  of  Constance,  and  the  monastery  itself 


CARLOVINGIAN     AND    GERMAN 

843-920 

was  rebuilt  in  magnificent  style.  It  included  about  forty  buildings, 
for  besides  the  actual  monastic  accommodation  it  contained  wide- 
stretching  domestic  buildings,  bakehouses,  breweries,  mills,  and 
various  workshops,  and  so  formed  a  small  town  in  itself.  From 
thence  the  abbots  zealously  cultivated  intellectual  life.  There  were 
two  schools,  an  inner  school  for  monks  and  an  outer  for  the  laity. 
The  discipline  is  said  to  have  been  so  exemplary  that  when  King 
Conrad  I.  visited  the  monastery  and  tempted  the  young  scholars 
during  their  exercises  with  gold  pieces  and  apples  they  would  not 
even  glance  at  them.  Eminent  teachers,  such  as  the  famous  singer 
and  composer,  Notker  the  Stammerer  or  the  Saint,  Ratbert  of 
Zurich,  the  historian  of  the  monastery,  and  Tutilo,  the  great 
master-sculptor,  labored  here.  The  ancient  classics  were  read; 
boys  learned  to  make  extempore  Latin  hexameters  and  pentameters, 
and  were  taught  to  play  stringed  instruments.  All  the  arts  and 
sciences  were  taught  and  cultivated ;  here  the  study  of  the  German 
language  received  a  powerful  stimulus,  and  here  the  first  German 
celestial  globe  was  finished.  St.  Gall  was  also  the  school  of  music 
and  song  of  that  age;  it  produced  numerous  compositions  for  the 
service  of  the  mass,  and  a  contemporary  historian  writes  that  St. 
Gall  had  filled  the  church  of  God  with  brightness  and  joy,  not  only 
in  Alamannia,  but  in  all  lands  from  one  sea  to  another,  by  his 
hymns,  songs,  and  melodies.  Writing  and  painting  became  high 
arts  at  St.  Gall.  These  arts  were  cultivated  quite  like  manufac- 
tures— some  made  parchment,  others  drew  lines ;  some  wrote,  while 
others  again  illuminated  and  painted  the  titles  and  initial  letters 
with  magnificent  ornament;  others  bound  the  books  in  covers, 
which  were  often  adorned  with  beautiful  carved  work  in  ivory, 
silver,  and  gold.  Such  perfection  was  attained  nowhere  else  in  all 
these  arts  and  sciences,  and  the  influence  of  St.  Gall  in  this  respect 
extended  to  the  monasteries  of  Rheinau,  Reichenau,  and  Pfafifers. 

In  striking  contrast  to  Alamannia,  Burgundy  remained  for 
centuries  later  intellectually  dead;  the  rude  and  warlike  nobility 
reduced  the  kingdom  to  a  state  of  confusion,  which  has  enveloped 
the  history  of  that  land  in  a  profound  obscurity.  Alamannia  and 
the  German  element,  therefore,  took  the  lead  in  the  development  of 
the  land.  The  influence  of  this  German  element  was  considerably 
increased  by  the  rule  of  the  German  emperors,  which  now  also 
united  Burgundy  with  Alamannia  and  Coire-Rhaetia. 

From  the  time  w^en  Henry  I.  united  the  German  races  into 


SU  SWITZERLAND 

920-962 

one  permanent  empire,  in  919,  the  whole  of  the  present  Switzer- 
land and  Burgundy,  as  also  Alamannia  and  Rhsetia,  became  closely 
united  to  Germany;  and  at  the  same  time  the  several  parts  were 
more  firmly  attached  to  one  another.  Burkhard  I.  of  Alamannia, 
Count  of  Zurich  and  of  Coire-Rhaetia,  was  the  first  to  yield  volun- 
tarily to  the  success  in  arms  of  Henry  I.  in  920;  he  surrendered 
himself  and  his  land  to  the  German  monarch ;  Henry,  however, 
contented  himself  with  the  position  of  chief  feudal  lord,  and  al- 
lowed Burkhard  to  keep  his  dukedom.  From  that  time  the  duke- 
dom of  Suabia  became  an  integral  part  of  the  German  empire. 
The  Emperor  Otto  I.  afterward  in  948  made  his  son  Liudolf  Duke 
of  Alamannia  and  Count  of  Coire-Rhaetia.  Liudolf's  successor, 
Burkhard  H.,  was  related  to  Otto,  and  that  emperor  often  visited 
the  present  Swiss  territories.  The  succeeding  dukes  remained  in 
close  friendship  or  relationship  with  the  imperial  house,  and  the 
emperor  in  return  often  stayed  in  German  Switzerland,  especially 
in  Zurich.  Henry  H.  held  imperial  diets  at  Zurich  in  1004  and 
1018,  and  tradition,  probably  with  truth,  attributes  the  foundation 
of  the  cathedal  of  Basle  and  the  golden  altar-piece  to  the  liberality 
of  Henry  H.  and  his  consort  Kunigunde. 

Burgundy,  too,  came  under  German  influence.  Rudolf  H. 
pressed  his  conquests  beyond  the  Lake  of  Zurich,  but  was  there 
encountered  by  Burkhard  L,  and  defeated  at  Winterthur  in  919. 
They  made  terms  of  peace,  however,  and  Burkhard's  daughter 
Bertha  gave  her  hand  to  King  Rudolf.  This  marriage  formed  a 
bond  of  union  between  east  and  west  Switzerland;  with  Bertha 
the  German  territory  in  upper  Aargau  was  annexed  to  Burgundy. 
The  alliance  must  have  become  still  more  effective  when  Burgundy 
shortly  afterward  came  under  the  dominion  of  Germany.  For 
Conrad,  the  young  and  feeble  son  of  Rudolf  H.,  was  placed  in  940 
by  the  nobles  of  Burgundy  under  the  protection  and  guardianship 
of  Otto  L ;  and  ten  years  later  Otto  married  Conrad's  sister,  the 
beautiful  and  famous  Adelaide,  Bertha's  daughter,  Queen  of  Italy. 
These  two  women,  Adelaide  and  Bertha,  are  held  in  lasting  re- 
membrance in  Burgundy;  the  former  strove  to  restore  the  Peace 
of  Burgundy,  disturbed  by  intestine  troubles,  and  Bertha  was  the 
"  Guardian  Angel  "  of  the  people  at  a  time  when  internal  feuds 
were  raging,  and  the  enemies  already  alluded  to  were  making  pred- 
atory inroads;  she  is  said  to  have  founded  the  religious  house  at 
Payerne  in  962.      Tradition  represents  her  as  spinning  like  the 


CARLOVINGIAN     AND     GERMAN         846 

962-1000 

goddess  Freya,  and  all  that  was  beautiful  and  good  in  antiquity  is 
ascribed  to  her,  the  honored  mother  of  her  country,  the  promoter 
of  good  works  and  holiness.  Later  generations  lamented  bitterly 
"  the  times  are  no  more  when  Bertha  spun,"  Succeeding  kings  of 
Burgimdy  undertook  nothing  without  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
German  emperor. 

It  now  only  remained  to  incorporate  Alamannia  and  Bur- 
gundy entirely  into  the  German  empire.  Rudolf  III.  of  Burgundy 
(993-1032)  was  a  feeble,  bigoted  prince,  who  relied  upon  the 
church  for  support  against  the  encroachments  of  the  nobles,  and 
bestowed  lands  and  privileges  upon  it  with  so  liberal  a  hand  that  he 
was  forced  at  last  to  look  to  the  alms  of  the  bishops  for  his  own 
maintenance.  Being  more  and  more  oppressed  by  the  nobles,  who 
wished  to  depose  him,  the  government  became  a  burden  to  him, 
and  he  took  refuge  with  his  sister's  son,  the  German  emperor 
Henry  II.,  who  already  had  designs  upon  Burgundy,  and  appointed 
him  as  his  heir  and  successor.  Henry,  however,  could  only  estab- 
lish his  authority  by  force  of  arms ;  what  he  was  unable  himself  to 
achieve  was  completed  by  his  successor,  Conrad  II.  ("  der  Salier," 
or  the  "  Salic  "),  who  advanced  with  his  victorious  army  as  far  as 
Morat  and  Neuchatel,  had  himself  made  king  and  crowned  at 
Payerne  in  1033  after  the  death  of  Rudolf  III.,  and  received  gen- 
eral recognition  in  the  cathedral  at  Geneva.  In  1038,  at  Soleure, 
he  conferred  Burgundy  upon  his  son  Henry  amid  the  rejoicings  of 
the  people.  In  the  same  year  he  also  ceded  to  this  son  Alamannia 
and  Rhaetia,  and  thus  almost  the  whole  of  the  present  Switzerland 
came  under  German  rule.  Henry  III.  (1039-1056)  managed  his 
affairs  personally  as  far  as  possible;  he  visited  Basle  and  Zurich, 
staying  in  the  latter  town  at  six  different  times ;  he  took  these  op- 
portunities to  hold  diets,  and  to  settle  important  national  matters. 
By  provisions  made  at  diets  held  at  Soleure,  he  subdued  Burgundy 
with  a  strong  hand,  where,  owing  to  the  avarice  and  arrogance  of 
the  nobles,  club  law  (Faustrecht)  had  prevailed. 

The  attention  which  the  German  emperor  paid  to  this  country 
was  of  no  little  benefit  to  the  religious  foundations,  which  became 
centers  of  intellectual  life.  At  this  time  the  land  possessed  a 
number  of  master  minds,  and  was  in  the  forefront  of  learning 
among  German  lands.  St.  Gall  formed  an  educational  school  for 
the  whole  of  Germany.  Ekkehard  I.  (ob.  973),  from  Toggenburg, 
the  head  of  the  inner  monastic  school,  cultivated  German  poetry 


346  SWITZERLAND 

1000-1057 

{Walthari-Lied)  under  the  patronage  of  Otto  I.  Ekkehard  II., 
his  nephew  {ob.  990),  was  the  most  renowned  scholar  of  his  time; 
he  instructed  Hedwig,  Duchess  of  Alamannia,  in  the  classics  at  the 
castle  of  Hohentwiel,  and  Otto  appointed  him  as  tutor  to  his  son. 
Notker  III.  (Labeo  or  the  "Thick-lipped,"  ob.  1022)  distin- 
guished himself  in  almost  every  branch  of  learning,  especially  in 
the  knowledge  of  languages  and  philosophy ;  he  interested  him- 
self in  German,  wrote  both  poetry  and  prose  in  that  language,  and 
translated  the  most  notable  works  of  classic  literature  and  portions 
of  the  Bible  into  German.  His  pupil,  Ekkehard  IV.  (ob.  1056), 
at  one  time  the  head  of  the  school  of  St.  Gall,  then  of  the  cathedral 
school  in  Mayence,  and  the  historian  of  St.  Gall,  was  likewise 
master  of  all  the  knowledge  of  his  time,  and  was  held  in  high  honor 
by  the  imperial  court;  the  emperor's  sister-in-law  was  once  so 
charmed  with  his  song  that  she  placed  her  own  ring  upon  his 
finger.  St.  Gall,  however,  did  not  long  continue  the  only  educa- 
tional center;  it  was  eagerly  followed  by  Reichenau  and  Constance, 
and  more  notably  by  the  monastery  of  Einsiedeln,  which,  built  in 
the  tenth  century  upon  the  spot  hallowed  by  the  sufferings  of  St. 
Meinrad,  and  raised  to  eminence  by  the  favor  of  the  ducal  family 
of  Alamannia  and  of  the  German  imperial  court,  cultivated  the  arts 
and  sciences  in  its  famous  school. 

An  important  event  of  this  period  was  the  advance  of  the 
German  population.  From  the  eleventh  century  we  find  Germans 
in  great  numbers  in  Romance  territory;  the  Rhaetian  aristocracy, 
the  ruling  class,  was  chiefly  formed  of  Germans  (German  names  of 
castles  and  German  records  have  been  found  even  in  completely 
Romance  valleys  of  the  Rhine  district).  In  like  manner  the  Ger- 
man population  advanced  to  the  southwest;  the  Bernese  Qberland 
and  Engelberg  were  now  eagerly  colonized  from  Alamannia,  and 
later  on  Upper  Valais  was  also  peopled  and  settled  by  those  of 
the  Bernese  Oberland;  Germans  advanced  even  to  the  valley  of 
the  Saane.  According  to  tradition,  Romance  shepherds,  passing 
up  the  river  through  the  woods  with  their  flocks,  met  with  shep- 
herds of  another  tongue,  which  was  German.  Thus  the  predomi- 
nant character  of  Switzerland  became  gradually  German. 


Chapter    III 

TERRITORIAL   DIVISIONS.    1057-1218 

A  FTER  the  death  of  Henry  III.  the  feeble  Empress  Agnes 
L\  in  1057  bestowed  the  dukedom  of  Alamannia  upon  her 
JL  .^  favorite,  Rudolf  of  Rheinfeld.  Rudolf  had  likewise  great 
possessions  in  Burgundy,  between  the  Saane,  the  great  St.  Ber- 
nard, Geneva,  and  the  Jura.  Thus  the  Swiss  territories  were  again 
united  and  came  under  the  rule  of  a  native  prince.  Rudolf,  in 
whom  the  empress  had  hoped  to  find  a  supporter  of  the  court,  soon 
ranged  himself  on  the  side  of  the  opposition  against  the  youthful 
Henry  IV.,  and  when  the  latter  was  excommunicated  by  the  Pope 
he  caused  himself  to  be  made  a  rival  king  by  the  princes  in  1077, 
chiefly  by  the  help  of  Duke  Guelph  of  Bavaria  and  Berchthold  of 
Zaringen.  But  in  Switzerland  Rudolf  met  with  an  energetic 
resistance  at  Constance,  St.  Gall,  and  Zurich;  the  bishops  of 
Lausanne  and  Basle  raised  an  army  and  devastated  his  estates. 
After  Rudolf's  death  in  1080  the  Zaringen  and  Guelph  faction  took 
up  the  cause;  but  there  arose  against  them  the  Staufen  faction, 
with  Frederick  of  Staufen,  to  whom  Henry  IV.  had  ceded  Ala- 
mannia, at  their  head.  A  devastating  war  broke  out,  and  many 
monasteries,  towns,  castles,  and  churches  were  destroyed. 

The  struggle  was  also  carried  on  with  spiritual  weapons;  the 
monks  of  Cluny,  eager  for  the  revival  of  ecclesiastical  discipline 
and  for  the  development  of  the  papal  power,  disseminated  the 
idea  of  the  independence  and  omnipotence  of  the  church.  Ro- 
mainmotier  and  Payerne  had  become  dependent  upon  Cluny  as 
early  as  the  tenth  century,  and  now  other  Cluniac  foundations  were 
erected  as  at  Rougemont  and  Riieggisberg.  The  example  of  Cluny 
was  followed  by  the  monasteries  of  Einsiedeln,  Muri,  Allerheiligen 
(Schaffhausen),  and  Rheinau;  the  monks,  in  concert  with  the 
Zaringen-Guelph  party,  preached  war  to  the  death  against  the 
excommunicated  emperor  and  his  followers.  The  Zaringens 
meanwhile  had  taken  the  place  of  the  house  of  Rheinfeld;  when 
the  last  of  the  Rheinfelds  died  in  1090,  Berchthold  II.  of  Zaringen 
inherited  all  the  estates  of  that  house,  and  was  made  Duke  of 

S47 


348 


SWITZERLAND 


1097-1127 


Suabia  in  opposition  to  Frederick  of  Staufen.  It  was  one  con- 
tinual party  strife,  until  by  the  peace  of  1097  Berchthold  11.  of 
Zaringen  renounced  the  dukedom  of  Alamannia,  and  received  in 
its  stead  the  imperial  bailiwick  of  Zurich  with  the  title  of  duke.  In 
the  decay  of  all  authority  under  the  Staufens  and  Zaringens,  and 
the  division  of  the  dukedom  of  Alamannia,  the  first  step  was  made 
toward  the  independent  development  of  Switzerland. 

Through  the  acquisition  of  Zurich  by  the  peace  of  1097  the 
Zaringens  became  the  largest  landowners  of  Switzerland;  since  the 


tenth  century  they  had  possessed  the  county  of  Thurgau ;  from  the 
house  of  Rheinfeld  they  received  an  extensive  property  between 
the  Reuss  and  the  Aar.  Zurich  itself  was  so  flourishing  in  the 
twelfth  century  that  a  German  writer  calls  it  the  chief  town  of 
Suabia ;  an  inscription  over  the  gate  of  the  town  ^ — "  Zurich  the 
noble  with  abundance  of  many  things  " — is  supposed  to  have  de- 
noted its  wealth  and  prosperity.  Supported  by  these  possessions 
the  Zaringens  might  well  conceive  the  idea  of  occupying  once  more 
the  position  of  Henry  III.  and  Rudolf  of  Rheinfeld.  The  powers 
and  rights  inherited  by  them  from  the  house  of  Rheinfeld  were, 
however,  called  in  question  by  the  counts  of  Upper  Burgundy, 
till  in  1 127  William  IV.  of  Upper  Burgundy  was  killed,  and 
^"Das  edle  Zurich  mit  Uberfluss  an  vielen  Dingen." 


TERRITORIAL     DIVISIONS  849 

1127-1218 

Conrad  III.  of  Zaringen,  a  relative  of  William,  was  declared 
"Rector"  (Reichsvicar) ,  and  make  Duke  of  Burgundy  by  the 
Emperor  Lothaire,  in  opposition  to  a  Burgundian  kinsman.  But 
the  Burgundian  lords  of  Geneva,  Ottingen,  Grandson,  and  Gruy- 
eres,  and  the  bishops,  in  all  of  whom  the  dislike  to  German 
supremacy  was  once  more  aroused,  rose  against  the  Zaringens  as 
one  man,  and  a  succession  of  passionate  struggles  and  terrible 
feuds  raged  as  long  as  the  Zaringens  lived.  The  latter  sought  to 
find  in  the  towns  and  boroughs  a  counterbalance  against  the 
haughty  nobles.  They  erected  castles  and  fortresses,  around  which 
larger  places  gradually  arose,  or  they  fortified  the  settlements  al- 
ready standing,  manned  them  with  forces  capable  of  resistance,  and 
bestowed  upon  them  estates  (Burglehcn)  ^  and  privileges.  Thus 
Berchthold  IV.,  about  1177,  founded  the  fortress  of  Fribourg. 
To  him  or  to  his  son  Berchthold  V.  the  fortifications  and  first 
municipal  laws  of  Burgdorf,  Moudon,  Yverdon,  Laupen,  Giim- 
minen,  and  Thun,  also  owe  their  origin.  Berchthold  V.  had  to 
maintain  a  hard  struggle.  The  whole  nobility  of  Burgundy  con- 
spired against  him.  Berchthold,  however,  defeated  some  at 
Avenches,  others  in  the  valley  of  Grindelwald,  and  afterward,  in 
1 191,  established  the  town  of  Berne  ^  on  an  island  in  the 
Aar,  which  was  imperial  soil,  as  a  strong  bulwark,  whence  he 
could  easily  dominate  the  surrounding  country  as  from  a  castle. 
But  all  these  efforts  had  no  lasting  result.  The  Burgundians  and 
the  house  of  Savoy  revolted  afresh,  and  Berchthold  V.,  driven  back 
from  the  Vaud  and  Valais,  was  obliged  in  his  last  days  to  look  upon 
the  wreck  of  all  his  plans;  his  race  died  with  him  in  1218,  having 
attained  celebrity  by  the  foundation  of  many  towns. 

The  German  empire,  under  whose  rule  Switzerland  had  come 
in  the  eleventh  century,  and  to  whom  it  practically  belonged  until 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  was  advancing  from  the  twelfth 
century  toward  an  internal  dissolution.  The  strong  and  uniform 
imperial  authority  which  Otto  I.  and  the  "  Salic  "  rulers  had  estab- 
lished was  gradually  relaxed.    The  authority  of  the  empire  became 

• «.  e.,  the  tenure  of  a  feudal  castle  and  the  land  attached  to  it. 

"  This  name,  sometimes  said  to  be  derived  from  B'dren  (bears)  in  allusion 
to  the  figures  on  the  armorial  bearings  of  the  city,  has  on  the  contrary  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  "  bears."  Verona,  which  was  in  possession  of  the  Zaringens, 
was  in  German  called  Bern.  The  fact  that  Berne  was  founded  upon  imperial 
soil  constitutes  an  essential  difference  between  that  town  and  Fribourg,  it  had 
therefore  afterward  the  character  of  an  imperial  town. 


350  SWITZERLAND 

1218 

more  and  more  limited,  partly  by  the  ambition  of  powerful  and 
bold  vassals  and  nobles,  partly  by  the  heavy  blov^s  which  were  in- 
flicted on  the  empire  by  the  Popes  and  the  church.  The  imperial 
estates  were  wasted;  the  representatives  of  the  empire,  the  em- 
perors themselves,  undermined  their  own  power  by  the  remission 
of  royalties  (coinage,  customs,  rights  of  hunting  and  fishing,  and 
feudal  sovereignty),  and  by  the  granting  of  numerous  privileges 
and  liberties,  being  forced  thereto  by  political  circumstances;  and 
under  either  feeble  rulers  or  despots  who  wasted  their  time  and 
strength  upon  the  foundation  of  a  dominion  in  Italy  numberless 
petty  states  were  formed  which  rendered  useless  the  empire  and 
the  imperial  authority. 

The  all-absorbing  feudal  system  formed  an  important  factor 
in  this  process  of  disorganization.  Not  only  were  estates  and 
lands  bestowed  in  fee,  but  even  offices  and  rights  of  lordship,  and 
when  in  the  eleventh  century  fiefs  became  generally  hereditary,  the 
bond  between  vassals  and  their  lords  became  lax;  the  former  be- 
came more  independent,  and  finally  cared  nothing  for  their  feudal 
lords.  Thus  dukedoms  and  earldoms  became  the  hereditary  prop- 
erty of  powerful  families.  But  the  division  went  further.  These 
great  lords  or  crown-vasals,  forming  the  high  nobility,  also  dis- 
tributed fiefs,  and  bestowed  portions  of  their  principalities,  smaller 
counties,  or  the  dominion  over  separate  villages,  upon  vassals, 
dependents  of  the  lower  nobility,  who  in  their  turn  contrived  to 
make  themselves  more  free.  Thus  the  county  system,  which  had 
formed  the  solid  basis  of  imperial  government  under  the  Franks, 
was  dissolved. 

This  dissolution  of  the  county  system  and  the  development  of 
the  feudal  system  were  essentially  furthered  by  the  "  Immunity," 
or  the  right  of  exemption  from  the  county  jurisdiction,  which  was 
first  granted  to  monastic  houses  and  bishops,  and  later  to  royal 
vassals  also.  The  foundation  was  thereby  laid  for  the  formation 
of  smaller  states  within  each  county.  The  bishops  and  abbots,  not 
being  allowed  to  exercise  criminal  jurisdiction  themselves,  ap- 
pointed either  for  themselves  or  by  the  king  a  deputy  or  advocate 
to  administer  for  them,  called  a  bailiff  or  governor  (Vogt),  who 
entirely  managed  their  temporal  and  agricultural  affairs  (Kast- 
vogtei).  Even  the  office  of  governor  was  afterward  converted 
into  a  hereditary  possession,  and  temporal  lords  also  appointed 
similar  governors. 


TERRITORIAL    DIVISIONS  551 

1218 

This  localization  of  authority  was  very  closely  connected  with 
a  change  of  another  kind.  From  the  eighth  century  families  of 
the  nobility  had  increasingly  succeeded,  either  by  purchase  or  by 
craft  and  force,  favored  by  the  growing  need  and  impoverishment 
of  the  small  peasants,  in  uniting  enormous  landed  possessions  in 
their  own  hands.  Thus  large  estates  became  the  rule  everywhere, 
and  the  small  holding  of  the  freeman  an  ever  rarer  exception.  Part 
of  these  estates  was  bestowed  upon  vassals  (ministeriales,  or  retain- 
ers) under  obligation  of  military  or  knight's  service;  and  part 
upon  dependents,  bondmen,  or  free  peasants,  as  copyhold  tenants. 
These  great  landed  proprietors  in  counties  or  villages  sought  to 
acquire  political  power,  and  abrogated  to  themselves  everywhere 
rights  of  dominion  and  jurisdiction.  They  received  a  manorial 
jurisdiction,  that  is,  the  right  of  punishing  offenses  in  wood  and 
field,  and  the  control  over  affairs  of  the  soil.  Many  lords  of 
manors  then  contrived  to  obtain  the  office  of  under-govemor  or 
bailiff,  that  is,  the  jurisdiction  over  smaller  misdemeanors  not 
punishable  by  death.  The  office  of  the  higher  bailiff,  or  criminal 
jurisdiction,  was  quite  separate,  being  the  right  of  punishing  more 
serious  offenses,  such  as  theft,  robbery,  arson,  and  murder,  but 
even  this  might  chance  to  come  to  the  hands  of  the  lower  jurisdic- 
tion or  lord  of  the  manor.  These  feudal  relations  were  altogether 
different  in  different  places,  and  were  but  little  regulated  by  law 
and  rule.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rights  of  the  different  lords  and 
those  of  their  subjects  were  everywhere  definitely  limited  and  fixed. 
Handed  down  at  first  from  generation  to  generation  by  oral  tradi- 
tion, they  were  fixed  in  writing  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  cen- 
turies by  publication  (Offnungen)  of  legal  sentences  and  rules  of 
court.  Every  time  that  the  lords  held  their  courts,  in  spring  and 
autumn,  these  rights  and  customs  were  read  aloud  before  the 
people  as  a  continual  reminder.  These  spring  and  autumn  courts, 
at  which  all  those  who  were  under  any  sort  of  obligation  to  the 
lord  had  to  appear,  were  either  held  by  the  lord  himself  or  by  his 
manorial  officers,  the  steward  or  cellarer  (Keller),  who  received 
rents  and  made  inspection.  The  constitution  of  these  courts  tended 
more  than  anything  else  to  dispossess  the  old  uniform  constitution, 
which  had  rested  upon  the  county  system. 

The  political  conditions  of  the  people  were  very  various,  accord- 
ing to  their  rank.  All  power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  higher  and 
lower  nobility,   who  lived  upon  their  freeholds  or  their  feudal 


SSa  SWITZERLAND 

1218 

estates.  The  officers  of  house  baihff,  or  imperial  bailiff,  etc.,  had 
their  dwellings  in  strong  towers  and  castles,  dressed  in  hand- 
some armor,  and  found  their  pleasure  in  hunting,  in  feuds 
and  tournaments,  and  also  here  and  there  practiced  minstrelsy 
(Minnegesang) .  The  worst  position  was  that  of  the  bondmen 
(Leibeigenen) ,  who,  being  far  removed  from  their  lord,  and  not 
attached  to  the  estate,  could  be  sold  at  any  time,  and  in  their  miser- 
able wooden  huts  had  scarcely  means  of  subsistence.  The  freed- 
men  (Horigen)  were  in  rather  better  circumstances,  and  could 
only  be  exchanged  with  the  estate  upon  which  they  lived.  Freed- 
men  and  bondmen  had  other  feudal  obligations  to  discharge,  be- 
sides their  rents  and  feudal  duties,  such  as  death-dues  or  "  Best- 
haupt "  which  probably  corresponded  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  Wergild, 
and  socage.  The  dependents  of  a  religious  house  or  of  a  church 
(Gotteshausleute)  enjoyed  special  advantages  over  these  servile 
folk ;  they  were  not  under  any  hereditary  lordship,  and  could  claim 
the  immunity  above  alluded  to.  Outside  the  nobility,  the  best 
position,  at  least  in  social  respects,  was  that  of  the  freemen,  who 
possessed  either  freehold  or  copyhold  estates;  but  even  they  found 
but  a  very  scanty  livelihood.  For  a  copyhold  tenement  a  ground- 
rent  had  to  be  paid  in  kind  to  the  lord  of  the  manor.  These  custo- 
mary free  tenants,  however,  lived  in  continual  danger  of  being 
robbed  of  their  freedom,  for  the  lords  sought  perpetually  to  extend 
and  complete  their  own  authority,  to  efface  the  rights  of  the 
various  classes,  and  to  depress  all  into  a  similar  subjection.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  lower  classes  in  their  despair  struggled  upward 
more  and  more,  and  strove  to  obtain  a  better  position  either  by 
force  or  by  attaining  to  the  freedom  of  the  empire. 

Under  such  forms  the  conditions  of  mediaeval  government 
progressed.  The  spiritual  territories  were  first  formed  by  means 
of  the  Immunity,  and  by  the  grants  to  bishops  of  royalties  and 
county  rights,  which  became  very  frequent  after  the  tenth  century. 
Thus  the  bishops  of  Lausanne,  Sion,  Basle,  Constance,  and  Coire, 
the  abbots  of  St.  Gall,  Einsiedeln,  Muri,  and  Engelberg,  the  abbess 
of  the  Fraumiinsterstift,  became  powerful  manorial  lords  and 
possessors  of  princely  rights.  Among  the  most  notable  of  the 
secular  lords  were  the  counts  of  Savoy,  of  Geneva,  Gruyeres,  and 
Neuchatel  in  west  Switzerland,  the  counts  of  Lenzburg,  Ki- 
burg,  Hapsburg,  Rapperswil,  and  Toggenburg,  the  barons  of 
Regensberg,   and   others   in   east   Switzerland.      The   Hapsburgs 


TERRITORIAL     DIVISIONS  853 

1218 

were  the  most  fortunate  in  the  extension  of  their  territory;  in 
addition  to  their  hereditary  estates  in  Alsace  and  Aargau,  they  in- 
herited in  1 172  and  11 73  the  possessions  of  the  Lenzburgs  in 
Aargau  and  in  the  Forest  States;  and  later,  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, those  of  the  families  of  Rapperswil  and  Kiburg.  They 
seemed  to  have  taken  the  place  of  the  houses  of  Rheinfeld  and 
Zaringen. 

A  counterbalance  to  the  overweening  power  of  the  nobility 
was  formed  by  the  communes.  A  large  number  of  houses  and 
farmsteads  lying  near  together  formed  sooner  or  later  a  domestic 
and  political  society,  called  a  "commune"  (Gemeinde)  or  peas- 
antry (Pursame).  Such  a  fellowship  related  especially  to  the 
possession  of  a  common  portion  of  wood  and  pasture,  undivided 
and  enjoyed  by  the  whole  community,  called  the  "  Mark "  or 
Almend.  This  Markgenossenschaft,  or  association  of  the  Mark, 
also  looked  after  other  agricultural  concerns,  and  fixed  the 
time  for  vintage,  harvest,  and  the  like.  Some  communes  suc- 
ceeded in  extending  these  rights,  and  in  obtaining  their  freedom  by 
increasing  limitations  of  the  rights  of  their  lords,  by  purchase  or  by 
force,  and  in  the  formation  of  these  free  communes  we  find  the 
germ  of  Swiss  liberty. 

The  communes  in  towns  were  of  special  importance.  They 
were  formed  in  places  surrounded  by  walls,  with  houses  adjoining 
one  another.  This  method  of  colonization,  once  so  detested  by  the 
Alamanni,  came  more  and  more  into  favor  as  an  excellent  means 
of  defense  during  the  time  of  the  Hungarian  inroads  and  intestine 
feuds.  Such  walled  towns  gradually  received  considerable  privi- 
leges beyond  those  of  the  villages:  the  right  of  holding  fairs, 
privileges  of  jurisdiction  and  tolls,  rights  of  coinage,  and  the  right 
to  elect  municipal  officers,  etc.  The  development  of  these  towns 
differed  according  to  their  origin.  Some — and  those  by  far  the 
greater  part — rose  around  some  religious  institution,  or  around  the 
court  of  a  spiritual  lord,  such  as  the  episcopal  towns  of  Geneva, 
Lausanne,  Basle,  Coire,  and  Sion.  or  towns  dependent  upon  mon- 
asteries and  religious  foundations,  such  as  Soleure,  St.  Gall,  Lu- 
cerne, etc.  These  from  their  commencement  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  Immunity,  and  had  the  earliest  municipal  councils.  But  with 
the  decline  of  ecclesiastical  power  in  the  thirteenth  century  these 
towns  were  enfranchised  little  by  little  and  acquired  the  right  of 
electing   their   own    town    councils.     Moreover,    being    under   no 


S64  SWITZERLAND 

1218 

hereditary  rule,  and  the  baih"ffs  being  nominated  by  the  empire, 
most  of  them  preserved  a  certain  connection  with  the  empire,  and 
managed  to  raise  themselves  to  the  rank  of  imperial  towns  and  to 
withdraw  from  the  spiritual  control.  Other  towns  were  founded  by 
temporal  lords  for  military  purposes  or  in  the  interests  of  trade,  such 
as  Fribourg,  Berne,  and  others  built  by  the  house  of  Zaringen; 
Winterthur,  Diessenhofen,  and  Frauenfeld  by  that  of  Kiburg. 
Some  of  these,  such  as  the  towns  of  the  Zaringens,  enjoyed  special 
privileges  from  the  first;  others  acquired  them  when  their  lords 
were  in  difficulties  and  required  their  service;  they,  too,  gradually 
succeeded  in  obtaining  their  freedom.  Lastly,  there  were  towns 
toward  whose  foundation  and  development  various  circumstances 
had  contributed,  such  as  Zurich,  which  was  partly  a  royal  town, 
and  partly  ecclesiastical. 

All  the  towns,  however,  rose  to  distinction  in  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries  chiefly  by  their  trade  and  manufactures,  and  in 
this  way  they  became  the  seats  of  a  new  civilization.  The  popula- 
tion within  the  walls  was  a  very  mixed  one  in  point  of  rank:  side 
by  side  with  the  freedmen  and  bondmen  of  the  lords  of  the  town 
dwelt  the  vassals  or  officers  of  the  crown  and  numerous  freemen; 
the  former  lived  by  their  handicrafts,  the  latter  by  knight's  service, 
agriculture,  and  commerce.  Only  knights  and  freemen  originally 
took  part  in  the  civic  administration,  and  the  bondmen  or  handi- 
craftsmen first  obtained  political  rights  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
Thus  the  towns  became  of  the  greatest  importance  in  social  and 
political  development.  A  free  political  spirit  ruled  within  them. 
Bondmen  and  freedmen  who  settled  in  a  town  became  free  if  they 
were  not  fetched  back  by  their  lords  within  a  year.  ("The  air  of 
towns  sets  one  free.")  So  the  class  of  freemen  whose  very  exist- 
ence had  been  so  seriously  threatened  by  the  feudal  system  gradually 
increased. 

The  valley  communes  developed  like  the  towns.  The  people 
in  the  mountain  valleys  of  Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Glarus, 
Hasle,  etc.,  followed  the  example  of  the  towns.  They  were  pro- 
tected by  their  mountains,  as  were  the  towns  by  their  walls.  The 
freemen  everywhere  formed  a  nucleus  to  which  the  bondmen  at- 
tached themselves  in  order  to  avail  themselves  of  favorable 
circumstances  for  their  emancipation;  for  the  dwellers  in  the 
valleys  were  mostly  united  (as  in  Uri  and  Schwyz)  by  the  posses- 
sion of  a  common  or  Almend.    Uri  was  first  settled  by  subjects  of 


TERRITORIAL    DIVISIONS  865 

1218 

the  empire;  then  in  853  it  came  under  the  mild  ecclesiastical  rule  of 
the  Fraumiinster  of  Zurich,  and  acquired  the  right  of  Immunity. 
The  higher  administration  of  justice  was  exercised  by  the  bailiffs 
of  the  convent,  and  in  the  twelfth  century  and  the  beginning  of 
the  thirteenth  by  the  Zaringens.  But  the  Gotteshausleute  of  Uri  * 
gradually  acquired  many  precious  liberties.  There  was  in  Schwyz 
a  whole  commune  of  freemen,  over  whom  the  counts  of  the  district 
exercised  sovereignty.  Hence  Schwyz  also  early  became  unusually 
powerful  and  independent.  It  had  a  quarrel  with  the  monastery  of 
Einsiedeln  about  the  wood  and  pasture  land  on  its  borders;  and 
although  Henry  V.,  in  11 14,  and  Conrad  III.,  in  1144,  decided  in 
favor  of  Einsiedeln,  and  in  spite  of  the  spiritual  weapon  of  excom- 
munication directed  against  them,  they  adhered  immovably  to  their 
claims.  Compared  to  the  two  valleys  already  named,  Unterwalden 
was  politically  backward.  It  is  true  that  here,  too,  there  existed  a 
fair  number  of  freemen  in  and  about  Sarnen  and  Stanz;  but  they 
were  scattered,  and  the  land  was  divided  among  divers  spiritual 
and  temporal  lords.  But  in  the  thirteenth  century  they  also  were 
struggling  for  freedom  with  other  valley  communities. 

Since  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries  the  power  of  the  church 
had  increased  mightily.  She  amassed  enormous  riches  by  gifts, 
donations,  festivals,  masses,  etc.  The  bishops  and  higher  clergy 
supported  the  imperial  government,  and  received  royalties  and 
princely  powers.  The  popes,  the  highest  bishops,  acquired  an  ever- 
increasing  ascendency,  and  made  successful  use  of  the  religious 
agitations  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  to  their  own  advan- 
tage and  that  of  the  church.  They  interfered  in  all  ecclesiastical 
concerns,  organized  crusades,  and  deposed  emperors  and  kings. 

Ecclesiastical  institutions  and  orders  multiplied  incredibly. 
The  oldest  order  was  that  of  the  Benedictines,  to  which  belonged 
numbers  of  the  famous  monasteries  of  the  land- — St.  Gall,  Einsie- 
deln, Dissentis,  Pfaffers,  Rheinau,  Muri,  and  Engelberg.  In  the 
tenth  century,  when  this  order  languished  somewhat,  that  of  Cluny 
arose  to  a  fresh  struggle  in  the  cause  of  the  papacy,  the  church,  and 
asceticism.  When  the  strength  of  this  order  also  began  to 
flag  (about  iioo)  the  Cistercian,  Premonstratensian,  and  Carthu- 
sian orders  were  founded.  To  the  first  of  these  orders  belonged 
Liitzel  near  Soleure,  Hauteret  in  Vaud,  Hauterive  near  Fribourg, 

♦ "  People  of  God's  hpuse,"  a  name  applied  to  certain  inhabitants  of  Uri  in 
partial  subjection  to  the  abbey  of  Zurich. 


d56  SWITZERLAND 

1218 

St.  Urban,  Kappel,  Wettingen,  and  others.  The  second  included 
Bellelay,  Riiti  in  canton  Zurich,  and  others;  the  third,  La  Lance, 
Ittingen,  and  others  likewise.  Together  with  asceticism,  these 
orders  attached  great  importance  to  manual  labor  and  solitude  as 
the  principal  methods  of  strict  discipline.  The  new  monasteries 
carried  on  the  cultivation  of  the  land,  cleared  the  forests,  drained 
marshes,  and  planted  vineyards.  But  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
when  it  became  needful  to  prevent  the  downfall  of  the  church,  and 
to  reassert  the  principle  of  renunciation  of  the  world,  the  monas- 
teries of  mendicant  friars  arose  in  every  town :  the  Dominicans  or 
preaching  friars,  and  the  Franciscans  or  barefooted  friars.  A 
number  of  nunneries  were  likewise  founded,  and  the  religious  or- 
ders of  knights  also  established  themselves  in  Switzerland.  By 
means  of  these  orders  and  ecclesiastical  societies  the  church  became 
a  stupendous  power,  to  which  magnificent  cathedrals  and  minsters, 
beautiful  churches  and  splendid  ecclesiastical  monuments  still 
testify.^  But  the  more  wealth  the  church  amassed,  and  the  more 
she  mingled  in  worldly  concerns,  so  much  the  more  her  inner  life 
waned.  She  neglected  her  holy  calling  and  the  cultivation  of 
intellectual  life.  Monasteries  which  had  formerly  been  distin- 
guished by  their  literary  and  artistic  performances  were  remarkable 
in  the  thirteenth  century  for  their  ignorance.  Opposition  to  the 
church  grew  apace,  sectarian  tendencies  increased,  and  in  all  parts 
recourse  was  had  to  the  authorities  of  the  state  to  restrain  the 
power  of  the  church. 

•^  Of  ancient  churches  in  the  Romanesque  (or  round-arch)  style,  we  may 
name  Payerne,  the  Grossmiinster  in  Zurich,  Neuchatel,  Ufenau,  Coire,  Katzis, 
Dissentis,  and  Sion.  Later  ones  in  the  Gothic  (or  pointed-arch)  style:  Geneva, 
Lausanne,  Berne,  Kappel,  and  the  churches  of  the  mendicant  friars  everywhere. 


Chapter    IV 

FORMATION   OF  THE   LEAGUES.     1218-1315 

THE  death  of  Berchthold  V.  and  the  extinction  of  the 
house  of  Zaringen  preserved  Switzerland  from  the  fate 
of  many  other  parts  of  the  empire,  that  of  becoming  per- 
manently a  royal  possession.  The  estates  of  the  Zaringens  in 
west  Switzerland  (such  as  Herzogenbuchsee,  Thun,  Burgdorf,  and 
Fribourg)  fell,  it  is  true,  to  the  house  of  Kiburg;  the  rectorate  of 
Burgundy,  however,  reverted  to  the  emperor  and  became  extinct; 
the  dynasties,  which  had  been  dependent  upon  the  rector  as  such, 
and  the  towns  which  had  been  conferred  upon  the  Zaringens  as 
imperial  estates,  likewise  reverted  to  the  empire,  and  so  obtained  a 
sort  of  independence  or  freedom  of  the  empire  (Reichsfreiheit) . 
This  was  the  case  with  the  counts  of  Buchegg,  Neuchatel,  and 
others,  and  the  towns  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Soleure,  Laupen,  Gum- 
minen,  and  Morat.  By  these  means  their  free  development  was 
greatly  advanced,  but  could  not  make  much  progress  without  hard 
struggles. 

The  house  of  Kiburg  united  powerful  possessions  in  eastern 
Switzerland,  the  county  of  Thurgau  and  Baden,  to  the  hereditary 
estates  of  the  house  of  Zaringen  in  west  Switzerland,  and  thus, 
like  that  house,  conceived  the  idea  of  forming  a  united  principality 
in  Switzerland.  In  the  southwest,  in  Valais  and  Geneva,  a  men- 
acing attitude  was  adopted  by  the  house  of  Savoy;  the  bitterest 
enemy  of  which  house  being  removed  by  the  extinction  of  the 
Zaringens,  it  was  now  at  liberty  to  attack  the  northern  territories 
of  western  Switzerland.  The  house  of  Hapsburg  had  at  last  ob- 
tained a  firm  footing  in  central  Switzerland  and  in  the  east;  it 
occupied  the  left  bank  of  the  Reuss  in  Aargau,  the  counties  of 
Zurich  and  Aargau,  and  extensive  though  scattered  possessions  in 
Zug,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  and  Lucerne.  Thus  the  free  com- 
munes were  straitened  and  threatened  on  all  sides. 

These  antagonists  first  came  into  collision  with  the  outbreak 
of  the  struggle  between  the  papacy  and  the  empire  in  the  time  of 

857 


358  SWITZERLAND 

1218-1240 

Frederick  II.  The  towns  and  free  communes  of  Switzerland  then 
openly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  emperor,  looking  to  him  to  protect 
them  against  the  overwhelming  power  of  the  aristocracy;  only  by 
his  help  could  they  hope  to  save  their  imperial  freedom.  The 
counts  and  lords,  however,  like  the  Guelphs  and  Zaringens  of 
former  days,  inclined  rather  to  the  side  of  the  papacy. 

The  Forest  States  commenced  the  attack.  The  jurisdiction 
of  the  Zaringens  over  Uri  had  been  transferred  to  Count  Rudolf 
the  Old  of  Hapsburg  ^  in  12 18  as  an  imperial  fee.  The  imperial 
bailiwicks  and  fees  being  at  this  time  gradually  converted  into 
hereditary  sovereignties  and  provinces,  the  people  of  Uri  began  to 
fear  they  would  come  under  the  dominion  of  the  house  of  Haps- 
burg  and  lose  their  Immunity.  They  therefore  had  recourse  to 
King  Henry,  the  son  of  Frederick,  who  managed  the  affairs  of  the 
empire  in  his  father's  absence,  and  who  granted  them  a  charter  on 
May  26,  1 23 1,  placing  them  under  the  protection  and  sovereignty 
of  the  empire.  The  bailiwick  seems  to  have  been  acquired  by  the 
Hapsburgs  by  purchase.  Uri  had  thus  lawfully  secured  her  free- 
dom, and  from  that  time  the  valley  takes  its  place  as  a  free  and 
independent  commune.  In  1243  it  had  its  own  seal,  like  the  towns. 
The  freemen  of  Schwyz  were  not  less  hampered  by  the  Hapsburgs; 
here  also  the  authority  of  the  counts  seems  to  have  been  converted 
into  a  hereditary  sovereignty,  as  was  the  case  with  the  imperial 
bailiwick  in  Uri.  When  in  1232  the  povvier  of  the  house  of  Haps- 
burg  was  shattered  by  its  division  between  the  younger  (or  Lauf en- 
burg)  2  and  the  elder  line,  the  people  of  Schwyz  also  determined  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  help  of  the  emperor  in  order  to  obtain  the 
freedom  of  the  empire  like  their  neighbors.  In  1240  they  sent 
delegates  to  Frederick  II.,  when  the  latter,  then  under  papal  ex- 
communication, was  besieging  Faenza  in  Italy;  and  the  emperor, 

*The  following  genealogical  table  will  serve  as  explanation. 

Rudolf  the  Old,   ob.    1232. 
I 


Albrecht  (the  elder  line),  ob.  1239;  Rudolf  II.,  the  "  Silent,"  of  Hapsburg- 

married  Heilwig  von  Kiburg.  Laufenburg  (the  younger  line). 


'  J  I 

Rudolf  III.,  Godfrey;  Everhard; 

became    king    1373;  ^  married  married 

ob.    1391.  Elizabeth  von  Rapperwil.       Anna  von  Kiburg. 

Albert    of   Austria. 
Idng    1398-1308. 
'The  younger  line  kept   (roughly  speaking)   the  possessions  in  the  Forest 
States,  the  elder  those  in  Alsace  and  Aargau. 


THE     LEAGUES  ^^%i9 

1240-1256 

in  December,  1240,  probably  out  of  gratitude  for  help  rendered, 
acknowledged  the  people  of  Schwyz  as  subjects  of  the  empire  by  a 
charter  under  his  own  hand. 

Hitherto  circumstances  had  been  extremely  favorable  to  these 
progressive  movements,  but  the  situation  was  completely  altered 
when  Frederick  II.  was  excommunicated  in  1245  at  the  Council  of 
Lyons  by  Pope  Innocent  IV.,  the  adherents  of  the  church  increased 
in  number,  and  the  wars  of  the  time  of  Henry  IV.  were  renewed. 
All  towns  and  states  which  adhered  to  the  emperor  were  threatened 
with  excommunication,  and  Zurich,  which  had  most  zealously 
taken  Frederick's  part,  was  laid  under  an  interdict.  The  whole 
empire  was  divided  into  two  hostile  camps,  those  of  the  Ghibel- 
lines  and  the  Guelphs,  and  a  tempest  raged  throughout  the  land, 
the  effects  of  which  extended  even  to  the  remote  Alpine  valleys. 
The  free  communes,  however,  nothing  daunted,  took  energetic 
measures  to  secure  their  liberties.  Zurich  expelled  the  Dominican 
monks  from  her  walls  for  inciting  against  Frederick,  and  also  the 
clergy  who  refused  to  hold  divine  service ;  Lucerne  revolted  against 
the  rule  of  the  Abbot  of  Murbach  and  the  Count  of  Hapsburg,  as 
did  also  the  Forest  States. 

In  order  to  advance  more  safely  upon  the  beaten  track  both 
town  and  country  communes  followed  the  example  of  the  Lom- 
bardic  and  a  few  North  German  towns,  and  entered  into  alliances 
with  one  another  for  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  for  the  protection 
of  traffic  in  troublous  times.  Thus  in  1243  Berne  concluded  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  Fribourg  to  secure  herself 
against  the  attacks  of  the  Kiburgs;  for  the  same  cause  Fribourg 
and  Morat  combined,  as  did  also  Berne  and  Lucerne.  Following 
the  example  of  the  towns,  Schwyz  also  made  a  league  with  Unter- 
walden  and  Uri,  and  about  1245- 1247  they  entered  into  an  alliance 
with  Lucerne  and  Zurich.  This  was  the  first  mutual  alliance  of 
town  and  country  communes,  a  prelude  to  the  founding  of  the  Con- 
federation !  The  Forest  States  then  took  up  arms  bravely,  and  the 
Count  of  Hapsburg  was  obliged  to  form  an  advantageous  military 
outpost  by  building  the  castle  of  New  Hapsburg  on  the  lake.  Strife 
arose  around  the  lake  of  the  Four  Cantons.  Then  at  last  were  the 
hostile  officials  of  the  haughty  retainers  of  the  Hapsburg  nobility 
expelled  and  their  strongholds  destroyed.  In  vain  did  Rudolf  II. 
of  Hapsburg  implore  the  aid  of  Pope  Innocent  IV.;  the  latter 
threatened  Schwyz,  Sarnen,  and  Lucerne  with  an  interdict,  but  the 


360  SWITZERLAND 

1256-1263 

Struggle  went  on  for  many  years,  and  only  came  to  an  end  when 
the  commencement  of  the  "  Interregnum  "  in  1256  effaced  all  party 
strife. 

The  people  of  Uri,  whose  liberty  rested  on  a  firm  founda- 
tion, remained  free,  but  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden  appear  to  have 
been  forced  to  submit  once  more  to  the  Hapsburgs.  About  1250 
began  that  troublous  time  without  an  emperor,  that  period  of 
confusion,  when  unbridled  passion  made  all  parts  unsafe,  and 
"  club-law  "  prevailed.  The  encroachments  of  the  nobility  upon 
the  towns  recommenced  everywhere.  In  western  Switzerland 
Hartmann  von  Kiburg  tried  to  extend  his  rights,  and  to  possess 
himself  of  the  estates  of  the  empire;  but  the  imperial  states  of 
Berne,  Morat,  and  Basle  found  an  able  protector  in  his  chief  op- 
ponent, the  bold  Count  of  Savoy,  Peter  II.  This  powerful  cham- 
pion of  the  house  of  Savoy  had  exchanged  his  spiritual  calling  for 
the  sword,  and  now  (1230-1260)  extended  his  dominion  by  in- 
heritance, purchase,  and  conquest  over  the  greater  part  of  the 
Romance  territory;  little  by  little  he  gained  the  whole  of  the  Pays 
de  Vaud  and  repulsed  the  encroachments  of  the  Kiburgs.  He 
endeavored  to  attach  the  Vaud  to  himself  by  securing  the  constitu- 
tion. His  laws  and  statutes  made  him  famous  and  he  was  styled 
"  The  second  Charlemagne."  In  eastern  Switzerland  also  feuds 
raged.  Zurich  was  attacked  by  the  barons  of  Regensberg  and  other 
nobles  of  the  neighborhood,  but  afterward  joined  Rudolf  III.  of 
Hapsburg,  the  opponent  of  the  Regensbergs,^  and  destroyed  many 
of  the  enemy's  castles.  The  towns  enjoying  the  freedom  of  the 
empire  were  now  practically  free,  since  the  empire  had  no  generally 
recognized  head.  The  imperial  castles  of  Lindenhof  in  Zurich  and 
Nidegg  in  Berne  were  either  left  to  decay  or  destroyed.  Other 
towns,  too,  were  struggling  for  freedom;  Winterthur  destroyed 
the  citadel  of  the  Counts  of  Kiburg,  Lucerne  broke  into  a  castle 
belonging  to  its  ecclesiastical  lord  of  Murbach,  and  Zug  withstood 
the  surrounding  nobility. 

In  those  times  of  the  surging  of  party  strife  the  towns  formed 
a  quiet  refuge  for  the  cultivation  of  intellectual  life.  Chivalrous 
poetry  flourished  in  the  castles  of  the  knights  of  Thurgau,  Aargau, 
and  Zurich  (Klingenberg,  Toggenburg,  Wart,  Teufen,  Regens- 
berg, Sax,  and  Montfort),  and  within  the  walls  of  the  town  of 

8  The  Regensbergs  laid  claim  to  the  county  of  Kiburg,  which  Rudolf  had 
inherited  in  1264. 


THE     LEAGUES  861 

1263-1289 

Zurich  the  sweet  notes  of  the  minnesingers  resounded  in  love  songs 
collected  by  a  knight  of  Zurich,  the  "  Manessische  Liedersamm- 
lung"  or  "  Songs  of  Manegg."  In  Zurich  we  find,  side  by  side  with 
the  poet  John  Hadlaub,  the  famous  poet,  singer,  and  writer,  Conrad 
von  Mure. 

At  the  very  moment  when  the  house  of  Hapsburg  seemed  to 
tremble  a  man  placed  himself  at  its  head  who  devoted  his  whole 
life  to  strengthen  and  consolidate  its  power;  this  was  Count 
Rudolf  III.  of  Hapsburg,  one  of  the  elder  line.  By  a  clever  use  of 
various  opportunities,  by  the  support  of  divers  boroughs,  including 
Zurich,  Basle,  and  Winterthur,  and  also  by  force,  he  gradually 
attained  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine  to  such  power  as  approached  that 
of  the  Zaringens. 

When  in  1263  and  1264  the  male  representatives  of  the  house 
of  Kiburg  expired  with  Hartmann  the  Younger  and  his  uncle 
Hartmann  the  Elder,*  Rudolf,  not  content  with  the  portion  of  the 
Kiburg  inheritance  which  he  inherited  in  his  mother's  right,  laid 
claim  to  the  whole  of  the  possessions  of  that  house  in  eastern  and 
western  Switzerland ;  disregarding  the  equally  legitimate  claims  of 
the  house  of  Savoy,  for  the  wife  of  the  last  of  the  Kiburgs  was 
Margaret  of  Savoy,  sister  of  Peter  II.,  he  defeated  Peter  II.,  and 
in  1267  acquired  the  dominions  of  the  Kiburgs  by  the  peace  of 
Morat.  He  next  made  war  upon  the  Bishop  of  Basle,  in  conse- 
quence of  some  territorial  disputes  in  Alsace,  and  in  1273  he  ob- 
tained the  estates  of  the  younger  Hapsburg-Laufenburg  line  in  the 
Forest  States  for  a  very  trifling  sum.  His  election  as  King  of 
Germany  followed  speedily  in  the  same  year.  He  availed  himself 
of  his  royal  dignity  to  restore  and  extend  the  power  of  his  house; 
he  secured  for  it  the  duchy  of  Austria,  and  now  openly  strove  to 
tread  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Zaringens,  and  to  reestablish  the  king- 
dom of  Burgundy.  He  pushed  his  way  over  the  Aar  by  force  of 
arms  and  besieged  Berne,  which  opposed  his  schemes,  in  concert 
with  Savoy  and  the  Burgundian  dynasties  (1288).  The  Bernese 
withstood  him  manfully,  and  Rudolf  was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege. 
It  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1289  that  a  band  of  Bernese  was 
defeated  by  an  ambuscade  of  Rudolf's  troops  at  Schoosshalde.  By 
purchase  and  intrigue  Rudolf  gradually  acquired  Fribourg,  Neu- 

■*Anna,  the  daughter  of  the  younger  Count  Hartmann  of  Kiburg,  after- 
ward (1273)  married  Count  Eberhard  of  Hapsburg-Laufenburg,  and  thence 
sprang  the  new  house  of  Kilburg. 


36^.  SWITZERLAND 

lot  1289-1291 

chatel,  Lenzburg,  Einsiedein,  Pfaffers,  Sackingen,  the  stewardship 
of  Glarus,  and  the  bailiwick  of  Urseren;  even  the  monastery  of 
St.  Gall,  whose  rich  landed  possessions  he  coveted,  was  frequently 
threatened  and  driven  to  great  straits.  By  these  acquisitions 
Rudolf  made  enemies  of  many  towns,  and  harassed  them,  more- 
over, by  heavy  taxes.  He  recognized,  it  is  true,  the  imperial  free- 
dom of  Uri,  but  his  double  powers  as  king  and  claimant  of  the 
title  of  landgrave  must  have  filled  them  with  alarm.  The  people 
of  Schwyz  fared  the  worst.  He  strenuously  asserted  the  rights  of 
his  house,  appointing  vassals  of  the  Hapsburgs  as  judges  in  the 
valleys,  and  shortly  before  his  death  he  obtained  Lucerne  by  pur- 
chase from  the  Abbey  of  Murbach. 

The  whole  of  Switzerland  seemed  to  be  caught  in  the  net  of 
the  powerful  Hapsburgs ;  little  was  wanting  to  make  the  whole  land 
between  the  Alps,  the  Rhine,  and  the  Jura  one  united  principality 
under  that  house.  But  Rudolf  died  suddenly  on  July  15,  1291, 
and  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine  all 
breathed  more  freely — towns,  communes,  and  dynasties  feeling  re- 
lieved from  oppression.  Hopes  of  freedom  revived  once  more, 
and  the  formerly  free  communes  now  boldly  pursued  the  course 
they  had  taken  under  Frederick  H.  and  during  the  Interregnum, 
until  arrested  by  Rudolf.  While  in  eastern  and  western  Switzer- 
land leagues  were  formed  directed  against  the  Hapsburgs,  in  the 
east  under  the  Bishop  of  Constance  and  in  the  west  under  the 
house  of  Savoy,  the  three  states  of  Uri,  Schwyz,  and  Unterwalden 
met  together  a  fortnight  after  Rudolf's  death,  on  August  i,  1291, 
and  swore  to  adhere  forever  to  their  old  alliance  made  in  the  time 
of  the  struggle  between  Fredrick  H.  and  the  Pope.  They  pledged 
themselves  to  faithful  aid  in  every  need  and  danger  against  all 
aggression,  to  acknowledge  none  but  natives  of  the  soil  as  judges 
in  the  valleys,  to  punish  impartially  all  disturbers  of  the  peace,  and 
thus  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  country;  in  all  other  respects 
everyone  should  serve  his  lord  dutifully  as  hitherto.^  Disputes 
among  the  Confederates  themselves  were  to  be  peaceably  settled  by 
the  "  Wise  men." 

This  first  Perpetual  League  became  the  historical  basis  of  the 
Confederation.  Like  the  earlier  and  contemporary  alliances  of 
towns,  it  was  not  directed  against  the  emperor  or  his  realm,  the 

•  Schiller  has  represented  this  last  point  absolutely  accurately  in  "  William 
Tell"  (Act  II.  Scene  II.,  toward  the  end:  the  proceedings  on  the  Riitli). 


THE    LEAGUES  863 

1291-1308 

Confederates  having  but  one  aim — that  of  providing  for  them- 
selves by  their  own  united  strength  the  protection  which  the  im- 
perial power  could  not  offer  them.  But  in  this  case  the  allies  were 
not  wealthy  towns,  such  as  those  of  Italy  and  Germany,  but  simple, 
homely  country-folk,  who,  with  a  full  perception  of  the  political 
situation,  had  the  courage  to  strike  out  a  path  for  themselves.  The 
league  was  to  be  "  forever,"  and  it  has  endured  without  interrup- 
tion. While  the  leagues  of  the  towns  died  out  in  the  course  of 
time,  the  Swiss  Federation  developed,  steeled  by  necessity  in  the 
after  days  into  an  irresistible  power,  before  which  the  house  of 
Hapsburg  in  Switzerland,  and  finally  the  nobility  itself,  sank  even  as 
stars  vaiiish  before  the  rising  sun. 

For  further  support  the  Forest  States  of  Uri  and  Schwyz 
shortly  after  the  formation  of  the  Perpetual  League  attached 
themselves  to  Zurich,  and  joined  the  alliance  formed  in  eastern 
Switzerland  against  the  Hapsburgs.  The  house  of  Austria, 
descended  from  the  Hapsburgs,  was  at  that  time  represented  by 
Rudolf's  son  Albert,  who  entertained  hopes  of  the  crown.  When 
Adolf  of  Nassau,  his  rival,  was  elected  King  of  Germany,  every 
enemy  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg  took  his  part,  and  war  broke  out. 
But  the  men  of  Zurich,  who  had  marched  against  the  Austrian 
town  of  Winterthur,  were  defeated  there  in  April,  1292,  with  much 
slaughter;  Albert  thereupon  advanced  swiftly  upon  Zurich.  "He 
was  unable  to  swallow  it,"  according  to  the  tradition,®  but  induced 
the  town  to  make  peace  in  August,  and  to  promise  military  service. 
Thus  the  league  formed  against  the  Hapsburgs  was  broken,  and 
even  the  Forest  States  and  Lucerne  were  finally  obliged  to  give  up 
the  struggle.  King  Adolf  secured  imperial  freedom  to  Uri  and 
Schwyz  in  1297. 

In  the  west  the  cause  of  Austria  underwent  a  defeat  in  1298 
by  the  victory  of  the  Bernese  at  the  battle  of  Dombiihl.  Albert, 
however,  being  made  king  by  the  electors  in  opposition  to  Adolf, 
and  remaining  sole  monarch  after  the  fall  of  his  adversary,  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  the  liberties  of  the  Forest  States  and  Berne, 
and  did  all  he  could  to  place  the  Austrian  power  on  a  firm  basis  in 
the  whole  of  eastern  and  central  Switzerland,  and  to  extend  the 
Austro-Hapsburg  patrimony,  first  established  by  Rudolf.  Once 
more,  as  under  Rudolf,  the  desires  of  the  Forest  States  for  free- 

'  The  Sage  von  den  Frauen,  or,  "  Tradition  of  the  Women,"  the  text  of 
which  is  gfiven  in  full  in  Dr.  Dandliker's  larger  history. — Ed. 


d64  SWITZERLAND 

1308-1315 

dom  seemed  about  to  be  stifled  in  subjection  to  the  Hapsburgs, 
when  suddenly,  in  May,  1308,  Albert  was  murdered  at  Brugg  by 
his  own  nephew,  John  of  Austria,  whose  claims  to  Bohemia  he 
had  refused  to  recognize,  and  some  discontented  knights,  Rudolf 
von  Wart,  Walter  von  Eschenbach,  Conrad  von  Tegerfeld,  and 
Rudolf  von  Balm, 

The  Forest  States  took  the  opportunity  to  wring  fresh  charters 
from  the  new  king,  Henry  VII.  of  Luxemburg.  At  that  time 
Werner  von  Attinghausen  took  the  lead  in  Uri  and  one  of  the 
Stauffach  family  in  Schwyz;  Unterwalden  also  was  now  for  the 
first  time  admitted  to  the  imperial  freedom  (1309),  and  so  stood 
on  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  Forest  States.  Henry  by  his 
deed  formed  the  Forest  States  into  a  separate  jurisdiction,  and 
appointed  one  of  his  knights,  Werner  von  Homberg,  imperial 
bailiff  there.  The  Dukes  of  Austria  vainly  tried  to  reestablish 
their  rights,  and  proceeded  to  take  vengeance  on  the  regicides. 
In  13 13,  shortly  after  Henry  VII.  had  become  reconciled  to  them, 
and  had  effected  a  treaty  of  arbitration,  settling  the  rights  of  the 
Hapsburgs  and  those  of  the  empire  in  the  Forest  States,  he  was 
snatched  away  by  death  in  Italy. 

In  13 14  a  disputed  election  to  the  throne  between  Louis  the 
Bavarian  and  Frederick  of  Austria  gave  fresh  occasion  to  the  Forest 
States  to  array  themselves  against  Austria;  the  people  of  Schwyz 
even  went  so  far  as  to  attack  the  monastery  of  Einsiedeln,  then 
under  the  protection  of  Austria  and  with  which  they  had  been  for 
two  centuries  at  strife,  and  to  possess  themselves  of  the  Austrian 
town  of  Art.  Frederic  then  determined  to  subdue  the  Forest  States 
by  force  of  arms,  and  commissioned  his  brother  Leopold  to  carry 
out  his  project.  On  November  14,  131 5,  the  latter  assembled  his 
contingent  in  Zug  in  order  to  attack  Schwyz;  another  portion  of 
his  army  was  to  advance  over  the  Brunig  pass  against  Obwalden; 
and  lastly  the  men  of  Lucerne  were  to  engage  Nidwalden  and  Uri 
by  the  lake.  But  as  soon  as  the  inhabitants  of  Schwyz  grasped 
the  intention  of  the  main  army,  they  occupied  the  heights  and  the 
narrow  pass  of  Morgarten,  the  natural  defense  of  the  land  on  the 
northwest,  and  as  it  were  the  gate  of  the  little  state  of  Schwyz. 
On  the  morning  of  November  15  the  cavalry  advanced  along  the 
Lake  of  Egeri,  the  infantry  following,  full  of  thoughtless  gayety. 
Suddenly,  from  the  heights,  the  men  of  Schwyz  rolled  down  trunks 
of  trees  and  blocks  of  stone,  and  wrought  terrible  confusion  among 


THE  BATTLE  OF    MORC.ARTEN' 
Painting    by    Ferdinand    Wagner 


THE     LEAGUES  S65 

1315-1318 

their  enemies ;  "^  then,  swift  and  sure-footed  as  the  chamois,  they 
rushed  boldly  and  fearlessly  from  their  hiding-places,  and  Leo- 
pold's army  fell  under  the  battle-axes  of  Swiss  peasants  like  a  flock 
led  to  the  slaughter.  Many  were  drowned  in  the  adjacent  lake. 
Half  dead  with  terror  and  excitement,  Leopold's  hasty  flight 
brought  him  to  Winterthur,  and  the  Austrian  power  seemed  shat- 
tered at  a  blow  by  a  handful  of  peasants.  The  troops  which  had 
crossed  the  Brunig  pass  turned  back  upon  the  news  of  Leopold's 
defeat. 

This  first  great  victory  had  decisive  results.  It  not  only  freed 
the  three  states  from  the  dominion  of  Austria,  but  it  also  tightened 
the  old  alliance.  United  more  firmly  by  a  common  danger,  the  three 
states  renewed  the  league  of  1291  at  Brunnen  on  December  9,  1315. 
The  unity  of  the  allied  states  was  declared  yet  more  emphatically; 
no  single  state  was  to  accept  any  lord  or  to  conclude  any  negotia- 
tions or  treaties  without  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  others ; 
whoever  should  either  assail  or  betray  any  one  of  the  states  should 
be  hated  and  outlawed  by  all.  In  the  following  year  Louis  ratified 
the  charter  of  the  Forest  States;  Austria,  however,  concluded  a 
truce  with  them  in  13 18,  by  which  the  enjoyment  of  the  rents  and 
revenues  of  estates  was  confirmed  to  Austria,  but  the  sovereign 
rights  of  the  counts  were  declared  void. 

The  memory  of  these  glorious  events  in  the  struggle  for  free- 
dom long  remained  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  since  there  was 
at  first  no  chronicler  found,  it  was  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth 
from  generation  to  generation.  The  father  told  the  son,  the  latter 
the  grandson,  the  grandson  the  great-grandson,  with  fervor  and 
enthusiasm,  of  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  Confederates,  of  actors 
and  scenes  in  the  past.  It  was  inevitable  that  here  and  there  the 
coloring  became  rather  vivid,  and  that  occasionally  a  fresh  and 
fragrant  flower  sprang  of  itself  out  of  the  ever-fresh  gardens  of 
tradition.  Many  things  were  obliterated  from  the  minds  of  later 
generations;  others  became  unduly  prominent;  others,  again,  be- 
came confused  in  the  various  narratives,  as  always  happens  when 
the  popular  imagination  transmits  and  elaborates  history.  In 
this  way  events  were  misplaced,  and  the  whole  course  of  develop- 

'  In  Justinger's  Bernese  Chronicle,  1420,  tradition  ascribes  this  deed  to 
some  exiles,  who  endeavored  in  this  way  to  win  their  pardon.  John  of  Winter- 
thur (about  1330),  who  describes  the  battle  in  more  detail  from  the  accounts 
of  eye-witnesses,  says  nothing  of  such  exiles,  and  on  the  whole  it  is  more  prob- 
able that  the  feat  was  accomplished  by  the  army  of  Schwyz  itself. 


866  SWITZERLAND 

1245-1450 

ment  was  gradually  quite  differently  conceived,  rather  as  it  was 
imagined  to  have  been,  than  as  things  had  actually  occurred.  Little 
by  little  people  forgot  that  Swiss  liberty  first  arose  on  the  basis  of 
the  original  legal  conditions  of  the  population,  by  slow  birth  and 
growth,  in  the  same  way  and  at  the  same  time  that  the  towns  were 
attaining  their  rights  and  liberties  step  by  step.  The  different 
revolts  against  the  Hapsburgs  (1245- 1273  and  1291-1315)  be- 
came confused  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  were  combined  into 
one  single  and  sudden  revolution.  In  order  to  justify  the  latter, 
the  condition  of  imperial  freedom,  to  which  states  had  in  reality 
attained  gradually,  was  erroneously  referred  to  the  most  ancient 
times,  that  the  dispute  might  assume  the  character  of  a  struggle 
for  ancient  and  holy  rights  against  impious  oppression.  In  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  popular  and  learned  authors  did 
their  part  toward  the  formation  of  more  decided  opinions,  by  add- 
ing personal  conjectures,  their  own  combinations  and  arrange- 
ments, and  sometimes  even  their  own  errors  as  historical  truth.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  Bernese  chronicler  Con- 
rad Justinger  (about  1420)  knew  with  certainty  from  records  that 
Schwyz  and  Unterwalden  had  been  under  the  Hapsburgs,  but  that 
Uri  had  maintained  an  exceptional  position  as  belonging  to  the 
Fraumunster  of  Zurich.  He  likewise  knew  that  the  Austrian 
Hapsburgs  had  purchased  their  rights  in  the  Forest  States  of  the 
earlier  or  younger  line  of  Hapsburg,  and  that  two  rebellions  had 
taken  place,  against  the  Hapsburgs  and  the  Austrian  Hapsburgs. 
According  to  tales,  which  he  probably  gathered  from  the  peo- 
ple, he  then  proceeds  to  relate  that  the  bailiffs  and  officials  of  the 
Hapsburgs  had  indulged  in  wicked  actions  against  "  pious 
folk." 

Twenty  or  thirty  years  later  we  meet  with  isolated  episodes 
out  of  these  traditions.  Hammerlin,  canon  of  Zurich,  in  a  lampoon 
upon  the  people  of  Schwyz,  in  1450,  relates  that  a  bailiff  of  Schwyz, 
appointed  by  the  Hapsburgs,  was  murdered  by  two  of  the  inhab- 
itants at  the  castle  of  Lowerz  because  he  had  insulted  their  sister. 
When  the  Count  of  Hapsburg  would  have  interfered  with  punish- 
ment, these  men  of  Schwyz  were  said  to  have  joined  with  others, 
and.  finally  all  combined,  and  to  have  destroyed  the  said  castle. 
When  the  people  of  Unterwalden,  neighbors  of  Schwyz,  heard  it, 
they  had  possessed  themselves  of  the  castle  of  Sarnen  and  destroyed 
it  while  their  lord,  a  noble  of  Landenberg,  was  at  mass  on  Christ- 


THE    LEAGUES  867 

1450-1470  p^.f 

mas  Day,  and  had  afterward  allied  themselves  with  the  men  of 
Schwyz. 

The  whole  wealth  of  the  rich  cycle  of  tradition  of  the  libera- 
tion of  the  Forest  States  is  first  produced  in  the  "  Chronik  des 
tveissen  Buches"  or  "Chronicle  of  the  White  Book,"  about  1470, 
now  in  the  archives  of  Samen.  After  Rudolf's  time,  so  runs  this 
record,  the  bailiffs  and  the  officers  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg  pro- 
ceeded with  great  arrogance  in  the  Forest  States ;  one  Gesler  in  Uri 
and  Schwyz,  and  one  Landenberg  in  Unterwalden.  Secure 
in  their  castles,  they  greatly  oppressed  the  surrounding  people. 
Landenberg  caused  the  oxen  of  a  peasant  in  Melchi,  near  Sarnen, 
to  be  taken  from  the  plow  by  one  of  his  men,  and  when  the  peas- 
ant's son,  in  self-defense,  injured  one  of  the  serving-man's  fingers, 
Landenberg,  finding  himself  unable  to  catch  the  culprit,  had  the 
father  brought  to  Samen,  where  his  eyes  were  put  out.  In  Altsellen 
the  lord  became  attached  to  the  wife  of  an  honest  man,  went  to  the 
house  when  the  husband  was  away,  and  had  a  bath  prepared. 
Meanwhile,  however,  arrived  the  husband,  went  in,  and  killed  the 
bailiff  in  his  bath  with  his  ax.  About  the  same  time  one  Stau- 
pacher  of  Schwyz,  who  had  built  himself  a  handsome  stone  house, 
was  harassed  by  Gesler's  demanding  the  name  of  the  owner.  His 
wife  asked  the  cause  of  his  trouble,  and  gave  him  no  peace  till  he 
told  her.  She  then  urged  him  to  go  to  Uri,  and  to  join  with  others 
of  like  mind,  reminding  him  specially  of  the  families  called 
"  Fiirst "  and  "  Zur  Frauen,"  and  urging  him  to  make  inquiries  in 
Unterwalden.  Staupacher  accordingly  allied  himself  with  one  of 
the  Fiirsts  of  Uri,  and  with  the  son  of  the  poor  man  of  Melchi,  who 
had  fled  thither.  Other  people  joined  them  secretly,  and  they  took 
an  oath  of  mutual  fidelity  and  help  to  defend  themselves  against 
the  lords.  And  whenever  they  held  their  discussions  they  betook 
themselves  by  night  by  the  Mythenstein  to  a  place  there  called  the 
Riitli.  Now  it  happened  once  that  Gesler  came  to  Uri,  caused  a 
hat  to  be  stuck  upon  a  pole  there,  and  bade  everyone  bow  to  the 
hat  as  though  it  were  the  lord.  One  of  Staupacher's  fellow-con- 
spirators, and  his  comrade,  an  honest  man  of  the  name  of  Tall 
(or  Tell),  would  not  do  this,  and  complaint  was  made  of  him  to 
the  lord.  The  lord  sentenced  him  to  shoot  an  apple  from  the  head 
of  one  of  his  children.  Tell  yielded  to  necessity,  put  one  arrow 
in  his  bosom,  and  another  on  his  bow,  asked  God's  help'.  and  shot 
the  apple  off  the  child's  head.   But  Gesler  wanted  to  know  why  he 


S68  SWITZERLAND 

1450-1470 

had  taken  the  second  arrow  in  his  bosom.  Tell  tried'  to  excuse 
himself,  and  only  confessed  upon  Gesler's  promising  him  his  life, 
that  had  his  first  shot  failed  the  second  arrow  was  destined  for  the 
lord.  Thereupon  the  latter  caused  Tell  to  be  bound,  in  order  to 
carry  him  to  a  place  where  he  would  see  neither  sun  nor  moon,  and 
rowed  with  him  and  his  serving-men  along  the  lake  of  Uri  as  far 
as  the  Axen.  There  a  terrible  storm  came  on,  and  they  thought 
they  would  be  drowned.  Gesler's  men  urged  him  to  loosen  Tell's 
bonds  and  make  him  row,  for  he  was  a  strong  man.  This  was 
done.  Tell,  however,  kept  his  eye  on  his  bow  and  arrows,  which 
were  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  when  he  came  to  Tell's  rock 
(Tellenplatte)  he  called  to  the  others  to  pull  hard;  if  they  reached 
that  rock  all  danger  would  be  over.  While  they  obeyed  his  orders, 
he  swung  the  little  boat  against  the  slab  of  rock,  seized  his  bow  and 
arrows,  and  sprang  out,  pushing  the  boat  from  the  bank  as  he  did 
so,  then  ran  swiftly  over  the  mountains  to  the  "  Hohle  Gasse  "  in 
Kiissnach,  and  there  awaited  the  lord,  lurking  behind  bushes. 
When  the  governor  passed  by  with  his  train  Tell  drew  his  bow 
and  shot  him,  then,  taking  his  way  over  the  mountains,  went  home 
to  Uri.  After  this  Staupacher  and  his  fellows  began  to  storm  the 
castles  of  the  lords,  first  in  Uri,  where  fell  Twing-Uri,  then 
Schwanau,  then  on  to  Schwyz  and  Stanz.  The  fortress  on  the 
Rotzberg  was  won  by  a  maiden.  In  Sarnen  people  came  on 
Christmas  Day  to  the  castle  to  bring  presents  while  the  lord  was 
at  church.  And  when  there  were  enough  of  them  within  the  castle 
they  made  a  sign  to  others  who  had  hidden  themselves  among  the 
alders  behind  the  mill,  and  who  now  came  up,  took  the  castle,  and 
destroyed  it.  The  bailiff  fled  with  his  retainers.  Thus  the  three 
states  made  a  league  together  to  resist  the  lords. 

Thus  far  the  drift  of  the  copious  work  of  the  first  chronicler; 
he  probably  drew  from  some  older  Swiss  chronicle  and  from  living 
tradition,  but  evidently  did  not  omit  to  heighten  the  effect  of  his 
narrative  with  his  own  bright  coloring  till  he  had  completed  his 
picture.  It  was  therefore  inevitable  that  when  this  composition 
was  used  by  Petermann  Etterlin  in  his  "  Lucerne  Chronicle  "  of 
1507,  and  was  reproduced  in  print  with  very  little  alteration,  it 
became  at  once  the  common  property  of  historian  and  people.® 

Yet  th«  manner  in  which  these  things  were  depicted  in  the 
"  White  Book  "  was  not  the  only  form  in  which  they  were  imagined 
and  related.  There  were  essential  differences  in  the  "  Traditions 
*  Etterlin,  however,  always  calls  the  bailiff  Gesler  "  Grissler." 


THE     LEAGUES 

1470-1570 

of  Uri."  According  to  the  "Lay  of  Tell,"  of  about  1470,  Stau- 
pacher  is  not  the  central  figure,  but  Tell:  his  appearance  and  con- 
duct form  the  center  of  the  whole  transaction,  the  occasion  of  the 
league,  and  of  the  revolt  against  the  lords,  and  Uri  is  the  land 
whence  sprang  the  league.  The  play  of  Uri  of  "  William  Tell,** 
dating  from  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  about  15 12, 
which  erroneously  places  the  rising  in  the  year  1296,  went  still 
further,  and  made  Tell  one  of  the  three  Confederates,  representing 
him  as  treating  with  the  people,  inciting  them  to  rebellion,  and  win- 
ning them  over  to  the  secret  league.  So  the  chronicle  of  Melchior 
Russ  of  Lucerne  (1482),  who  derived  his  information  from  Uri, 
where  he  had  relatives  and  acquaintances,  and  whose  version,  more- 
over, deviating  from  the  "  White  Book  "  and  being  more  in  accord- 
ance with  the  actual  circumstances,  relates  that  the  bailiff  wanted  to 
take  Tell  to  Schwyz  to  the  "  castle  on  the  lake,"  i.  e.,  to  Lowerz, 
and  not  to  Kiissnach,  and  that  Tell  shot  the  bailiff  immediately 
upon  springing  from  the  boat.  Diebold  Schilling,  of  Lucerne 
(about  1 5 10),  represents  Tell  as  compelled  by  a  count  or  lord  of 
Seedorf  to  shoot  the  apple,  and  that  on  the  13th  of  the  "hay- 
month"  (July),  1334  (  !).  Stumpf  in  his  Swiss  chronicle  (1548) 
also  follows  the  Uri  version  by  admitting  Tell  among  the  three 
Confederates.  Instead  of  the  fugitive  from  Unterwalden,  he 
places  the  man  of  Altsellen  among  the  three  founders  of  the  league 
and  shifts  these  events  to  the  year  13 14.  Thus  the  traditions  down 
to  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  uncertain,  and  to 
some  extent  contradictory. 

The  great  chronicler  Giles  Tschudi  of  Glarus  (1570)  put  an 
end  to  this  uncertainty.  Full  of  a  lively  patriotism,  he  desired  to 
glorify  the  fame  of  the  Confederation  by  a  brilliant  and  thrilling 
description,  and  therefore  treated  the  history  of  the  foundation  of 
the  Swiss  league  with  great  freedom,  like  a  romance.  He  set  to 
work  like  a  painter,  who  is  required  to  paint  a  historical  picture, 
but  who  is  left  perfectly  free  to  choose  his  own  figures  and  so  to 
arrange  them  as  to  produce  the  desired  impression.  He  followed 
the  description  in  the  "  White  Book,"  but  amplified  and  embellished 
it  partly  by  verbal  traditions  of  the  country  and  partly  by  using  a 
poet's  license.  Then  he  supported  the  whole  by  a  firm,  but  purely 
arbitrary,  chronological  framework,  which  even  assigned  exact 
dates  to  all  the  various  incidents.  Following  the  "  White  Book," 
which  had  misplaced  the  rising  in  the  time  after  Rudolf,  and  a 


370  SWITZERLAND 

1306-1387 

casual  assertion  in  the  "  Klingenberg  Chronicle  "  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  that  the  league  was  founded  in  1306,  he  erroneously  placed 
the  chief  events  in  Albert's  time,  and  even  in  his  last  years  (1307 
and  1308),  where  they  seemed  to  him  to  fit  in  best,  and  from  that 
point  he  divided  the  preceding  events  back  to  1304,  when  Albert 
was  supposed  to  have  sent  the  foreign  bailiffs.  Albert  himself, 
contrary  to  authentic  history,  is  briefly  portrayed  as  a  tyrant  of 
the  deepest  dye.  Tschudi  also  gives  the  persons  more  exact  desig- 
nations than  did  the  earlier  writers.  It  is  he  who  first  names  the 
man  of  Altsellen  (probably  according  to  popular  tradition)  "  Con- 
rad Baumgarten."  To  Fiirst,  of  Uri,  he  gives  the  Christian 
name  of  Walter,  to  Staupachei  that  of  Werner,  and  to  Gessler  that 
of  Hermann,  because  he  found  these  names  in  records  of  the  time. 
The  surnames  of  Anderhalden  and  Wolfenschiess  are  also  first  met 
with  in  his  writings. 

In  this  way  Tschudi  impressed  upon  these  traditions  the  stamp 
of  completeness  and  of  absolute  certainty,  and  obtained  such  credit 
for  them  as  remained  unshaken  through  many  generations.  His 
version  dominated  all  works  of  history  in  after  days,  and  became 
the  common  property  of  the  civilized'  world  through  Joh.  von 
Muller's  history  of  Switzerland  (1780)  and  Schiller's  magnificent 
drama  of  "William  Tell"  (1804). 

Yet  criticism  was  soon  aroused.  About  1600  Franz  Guilli- 
mann  of  Fribourg  ventured  to  doubt  the  story  of  William  Tell,  on 
the  ground  of  the  contradictions  and  diversities  in  the  accounts. 
In  the  eighteenth  century  it  began  to  be  noticed  that  in  the  folk-lore 
of  Denmark  and  Iceland,  much  older  traditions  than  those  of 
Switzerland,  there  were  tales  of  a  skillful  marksman  (Toko, 
Eigil),  who  was  forced  to  shoot  an  apple  from  the  head  of  his 
favorite  little  son,  and  who  drew  out  a  second  or  third  arrow  in 
order  to  kill  the  cruel  tyrant  in  case  of  failure.  The  first  to  notice 
this  important  circumstance  were  J.  C.  Iselin  and  Uriel  Freuden- 
berger,  the  latter  in  his  pamphlet  entitled  "Guillaume  Tell,  fable 
danoise"  (1760).  Tell's  advocates  exerted  themselves  so  much 
the  more,  and  even  resorted  to  forgery,  in  order  to  furnish  docu- 
mentary evidence  for  Tell's  history.  In  the  journal  of  Schattorf 
the  name  "  Trullo  "  was  altered  to  ''  de  Tello  " ;  in  the  parish  regis- 
ter of  Attinghausen  "Nail"  became  "Tall."  A  story  was  also 
invented  of  a  decision  of  the  Lands gemeinde  of  Uri  in  1387,  by 
which  a  pilgrimage  to  Stein  was  revived,  and  it  was  also  ordained 


THE     LEAGUES  871 

1388 

that  in  Burglen,  where  stood  the  house  of  William  Tell,  the  "  first 
restorer  of  freedom,"  a  sermon  should  be  preached;  and  of  testi- 
mony given  by  114  persons  in  Uri  in  1388  to  the  Landsgemeinde 
that  they  had  known  Tell :  as  if  it  would  have  been  necessary,  sup- 
posing Tell  to  have  been  a  historical  personage,  to  refute  doubts 
about  him  only  seventy  or  eighty  years  after  his  existence! 

Through  the  labors  of  Joseph  Eutych  Kopp,  who  from  1832 
to  1835  sifted  and  published  all  the  records  bearing  upon  the  origin 
of  the  Confederation,  criticism  gained  a  complete  victory.  It  was 
then  shown  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Forest  States  were  originally 
mostly  serfs  and  dependents,  and  that  they  only  obtained  the  free- 
dom of  the  empire  gradually,  step  by  step,  in  the  course  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  in  close  connection  with  the  events  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  German  empire.  It  became  evident  that  the  Perpetual 
League  was  concluded  in  1291,  and  not  in  1308;  that  it  is  barely 
conceivable  that  there  were  bailiffs  in  Uri  appointed  by  the  Haps- 
burgs  after  123 1,  and  that  the  Geslers  were  never  lords  of  Kiiss- 
nach,  etc.  It  is,  indeed,  shown  that  the  traditions  concerning  the 
storming  of  the  castles  and  the  founders  of  the  league  on  the  Rutli  ^ 
rests  upon  historical  foundation,  yet  they  can  by  no  means  lay  claim 
to  acceptance  as  absolutely  authentic  history  in  detail.  The  worth 
and  charm  of  the  old  folk-lore,  as  such,  was  all  the  more  recog- 
nized, at  least  in  its  earliest  form,  before  the  time  of  Tschudi,  in 
the  chronicle  of  the  "  White  Book."  In  these  traditions  we  learn 
to  treasure  the  principles,  ideas,  and  customs  of  the  primitive  Swiss 
as  the  truthful  and  worthy  product  of  the  Swiss  mind.  Often 
have  they  inspired  Swiss  hearts  to  patriotic  deeds,  and  even  now 
no  Swiss  youth  grows  to  manhood  without  imbibing  something  of 
the  heroism  and  the  enthusiasm  for  freedom  ascribed  to  the  first 
Confederates. 

•The  Riitli  may  have  been  the  historical  site  of  the  first  alliance  between 
the  years  1245  and  1250.  Various  ruins  witness  to  the  destruction  of  castles, 
and  narratives  such  as  those  of  Samen,  Lowerz,  and  Rotzloch  may  rest  upon  a 
historical  foundation.  The  characters  of  Staupacher  and  Fiirst  are  also  his- 
torical in  the  main. 


Chapter    V 

GROWTH    OF    THE    CONFEDERATION.     1315-1400 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  violent  shock  which  the  battle 
of  Morgarten  had  given  to  the  Austrian  power,  the  latter 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  form  her  territory  into 
one  compact  principality,  by  striving  to  obtain  complete  possession 
of  the  Forest  States.  Shortly  before  this,  in  13 13,  she  had  brought 
the  Kiburgs  and  their  landgraviate  of  Burgundy  into  subjection, 
and  she  now  sought  in  the  west  to  obtain  forces  and  aid  for  a  fresh 
struggle.  But  the  Burgundian  towns  of  Fribourg,  Berne,  Soleure, 
Morat,  and  Bienne  formed  an  alliance  against  the  duke  in  13 18. 
Leopold  endeavored  to  reduce  them  by  force,  and  in  13 18  besieged 
Soleure;  the  inhabitants,  however,  held  out  bravely  for  ten  weeks, 
and  are  said  to  have  generously  rescued  their  foes  when  the  bridge 
over  the  Aar  broke  down  beneath  their  weight.  The  plan  formed 
against  the  Forest  States  was  thus  frustrated ;  and  as  the  house  of 
Austria  was  for  very  many  years  following  occupied  with  dis- 
turbances and  misfortunes  elsewhere  in  the  empire  against  Louis 
the  Bavarian,  the  Forest  States  found  a  favorable  opportunity  to 
ally  themselves  with  others  like-minded  and  to  enlarge  their  field 
of  action.  With  this  end  in  view,  they  entered  into  alliance  in 
1323  with  the  Burgundian  towns,  notably  with  Berne  and  Thun, 
to  whom  they  were  drawn  by  a  common  danger;  and  they  then 
proceeded  to  endeavor  to  win  to  their  side  the  very  neighbor  whose 
hostile  policy  had  chiefly  troubled  them  in  the  past,  and  whose 
friendship  was  now  become  an  urgent  necessity,  namely.  Lucerne. 
As  long  ago  as  the  time  of  the  first  revolt  against  the  Haps- 
burgs  in  1250  Lucerne  had  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Forest 
States.  The  frequency  of  intercourse  by  means  of  the  lake  and  the 
requirements  of  trade  gave  rise  to  constant  friendly  relations  be- 
tween that  town  and  the  three  Forest  States.  This  alliance  was 
cemented  when  Lucerne  also  rebelled  against  the  Austrian  do- 
minion. For  since  this  town  had  passed  from  the  mild  ecclesiasti- 
cal rule  of  the  monastery  of  Murbach  to  that  of  the  Austrian  house 

879 


THE     CONFEDERATION  873 

1332-1343 

of  Hapsburg,  she  had  come  under  secular  dominion,  and  into  a 
condition  of  strict  dependence.  The  perpetual  demands  of  the 
inhabitants  for  an  extension  of  their  municipal  liberties  found  no 
hearing.  One  party,  therefore,  urged  an  alliance  with  the  Forest 
States.  The  breach  between  the  town  and  its  rulers  was  widened, 
when  a  few  burgesses,  and  soon  afterward  the  whole  community, 
bound  themselves  by  a  general  resolution  and  a  solemn  oath  to 
repel  all  encroachments  in  those  unquiet  times.  The  Austrian 
bailiff  at  Rotenburg,  to  whose  jurisdiction  Lucerne  belonged,  con- 
sidered these  proceedings  of  the  burgesses  dangerous  to  his  rule, 
and  seriously  threatened  the  town.  Thereupon  the  federal  party 
took  the  upper  hand,  and  on  November  7,  1332,  Lucerne  concluded 
a  Perpetual  League  with  the  three  Forest  States.  This  gave  rise 
to  fierce  and  devastating  struggles  of  many  years'  duration  between 
Lucerne,  the  Forest  States,  and  the  Austrian  party.  The  bailiff  of 
Rotenburg  fell  upon  the  men  of  Lucerne  at  Buonas,  and  compelled 
them  to  obedience,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the  league  with  the 
Forest  States  was  dissolved  (June,  1336).  The  town  was  also 
visited  by  a  conflagration,  during  which  the  people  of  Nidwalden 
lent  their  aid  as  faithful  Confederates,  notwithstanding  a  quarrel 
then  existing  between  them  and  Lucerne.  Meanwhile  the  Federal 
League  had  a  severe  test  to  undergo:  on  St.  James's  Day,  1343,  the 
adherents  of  Austria  formed  a  conspiracy  against  it  and  raised  a 
tumult.  Their  evil  designs  were,  however,  betrayed,  and  the  con- 
spirators were  banished,  though  the  event  probably  gave  rise  to  the 
later  development  of  the  tradition  of  the  massacre  of  Lucerne. 
This  league  of  the  four  Forest  States  formed  the  first  introduction 
of  towns  into  the  Confederation.  Thus  the  latter  passed  beyond 
its  mountain  limits  and  gained  a  footing  in  the  plain,  the  Bur- 
gundian  towns  having  previously  espoused  its  cause.  The  strug- 
gle was  now  resumed  on  all  sides;  in  the  present  western  Switzer- 
land, as  in  the  east,  burgher  and  peasant  alike  flung  down  the 
gauntlet  to  their  sworn  enemy,  the  noble. 

The  citizens  of  Berne  immediately  began  to  gain  ground  in  the 
west  by  taking  advantage  of  the  financial  and  internal  ruin  of 
the  nobility  of  Kiburg.  In  the  dispute  about  the  partition  of  the 
Kiburg  inheritance  Hartmann  von  Kiburg  had  been  murdered 
by  his  younger  brother  Eberhard  in  the  castle  of  Thun  in  1322. 
The  murderer  now  had  to  fear  the  revenge  of  the  Austrian  gov- 
ernment, which  had  been  favorable  to  Hartmann.      He  therefore 


374.  SWITZERLAND 

1323-1339 

sought  the  protection  of  Berne,  invested  that  town  with  the  feudal 
lordship  of  Thun,  and  raised  expectations  with  regard  to  Burgdorf. 
The  Bernese  enticed  King  Louis  into  the  alliance  against  Austria, 
and  in  1323  the  Forest  States  also,  and  began  the  struggle.  In 
1324  they  acquired  Laupen  by  purchase,  destroyed  some  castles  in 
the  Jura,  and  joined  Eberhard  in  attacking  the  counts  of  Neuchatel. 
In  1330,  however,  Louis  became  reconciled  to  Austria,  and  Count 
Eberhard  found  his  dependence  upon  Berne  so  irksome  as  time 
went  on  that  he  finally  joined  the  opponents  of  that  town.  The 
Bernese  now  stood  almost  alone,  and  their  thirst  for  action  was 
thoroughly  aroused:  they  destroyed  the  castle  of  Giimminen, 
belonging  to  Fribourg,  in  1332,  took  the  field  against  Eberhard, 
attacked  the  lords  of  Weissenburg  and  overthrew  them  completely, 
destroyed  Strattlingen  and  other  castles,  and  finally,  in  1334,  won 
the  valley  of  Hasle  from  the  lords  of  Weissenburg. 

These  daring  enterprises  on  the  part  of  Berne  exasperated  the 
entire  nobility  to  the  utmost,  and  the  latter  soon  found  a  favorable 
opportunity  for  making  their  hatred  felt  by  that  town.  The  Em- 
peror Louis,  being  at  this  time  under  the  papal  ban,  was  not  ac- 
knowledged by  Berne,  and  therefore  declared  war  against  the 
latter.  The  nobles  of  Burgundy  now  readily  entered  into  an 
alliance  with  one  another  and  with  Louis  against  Berne,  particu- 
larly the  Counts  of  Kiburg,  Nidau,  Aarburg,  Strassburg,  Neu- 
chatel, and  Gruyere,  together  with  the  Dukes  of  Austria ;  the  town 
of  Fribourg  also  joined  them,  moved  by  jealousy  against  Berne. 
These  opponents  all  assembled  one  day  at  Nidau  and  renewed  their 
ancient  demands  and  claims,  and  upon  Berne  refusing  to  comply 
with  all  their  desires,  determined  to  destroy  the  town;  all  peace- 
able overtures  were  scornfully  rejected,  and  when  any  of  the  nobles 
met  a  citizen  of  Berne  they  would  mock  him  with  the  words :  "  If 
thou  art  from  Berne,  bow  down  and  let  us  pass !  "  *  In  the  spring 
of  1339  they  marched  upon  Laupen  more  than  15,000  men  strong; 
the  place  was  bravely  defended  by  John  von  Bubenberg,  the 
younger,  till  the  Bernese  hastened  to  the  rescue  under  the  skillful 
leadership  of  Rudolf  von  Erlach.  They  brought  with  them  auxil- 
iaries from  Soleure,  the  Forest  States,  and  the  valleys  of  Hasle 
and  Simmen,  gathered  under  the  banner  of  the  White  Cross — only 
5000  men  in  all.  But  the  enemy  was  forced  to  give  way  to  the 
violent  and  simultaneous  attacks  of  the  Bernese  and  the  Forest 
States;  the  infantry  first  yielded,  and  after  about  an  hour  and  a 
^''  Bist  von  Bern,  so  duck'  dich  und  lass  ubergahnl" 


THE     CONFEDERATION  SI  5 

1339-1350 

half  the  cavalry  also.  This  brilliant  victory  of  Laupen,  which 
took  place  on  June  21,  1339,  the  eve  of  the  Ten  Thousand  Knights' 
Day,  again  turned  the  scale  completely  in  favor  of  the  Bernese. 
They  destroyed  the  castle  of  the  knight,  Jordan  von  Gurgistein 
(who  had  vented  his  malicious  joy  in  biting  sarcasm  at  the  distress 
of  Berne),  and  richly  retaliated  upon  the  nobility  for  all  feuds;  ad- 
vanced  upon  Fribourg,  completely  routed  the  forces  of  that  town, 
and  set  fire  to  its  environs.  Berne  was  everywhere  victorious; 
that  town  seemed  to  gain  ground  on  all  sides,  and  men  said  in 
amazement  that  God  Himself  had  become  a  citizen  of  Berne  and 
was  fighting  for  her.  But  both  Berne  and  her  foes  soon  longed 
for  peace,  which  was  concluded  in  1340  through  the  intervention  of 
Queen  Agnes  with  Austria,  and  was  shortly  afterward  followed  by 
a  ten  years'  league,  the  Bernese  engaging  to  furnish  auxiliary 
troops  when  needed.  The  town  also  renewed  her  league  with  the 
Forest  States,  which  was  in  no  wise  forbidden  by  the  Austrian 
alliance;  the  help  rendered  by  those  states  at  Laupen  and  their 
common  danger  had  linked  the  two  parties  very  closely  together. 
Berne  formed  as  it  were  the  western  bulwark  of  the  league  of  the 
Forest  States,  and  the  embarrassments  of  Austria  in  eastern 
Switzerland  renewing  the  struggle,  Berne  became  a  permanent 
member  of  the  Confederation. 

Zurich  formed  the  center  of  operations  in  the  east,  as  did 
Berne  in  the  west;  but,  unlike  Berne,  Zurich  first  tried  to  gain  the 
ascendency  by  a  union  with  Austria.  Ever  since  1292  Austria  had 
exerted  a  growing  influence  in  eastern  Switzerland,  until  inter- 
nal affairs  caused  a  breach  between  the  imperial  town  and  its 
rulers. 

Here,  as  in  other  German  towns,  the  handicraftsmen  had  long 
been  endeavoring  to  form  guilds  and  to  obtain  equal  rights  with 
the  aristocracy.  The  government  was  fiercely  attacked  by  the  citi- 
zens and  accused  of  divers  offenses.  Rudolf  Brun  took  an  oppor- 
tunity to  possess  himself  of  the  management  of  the  town.  This 
clever,  able,  and  ambitious  statesman  in  1336  wrought  a  change  in 
the  constitution,  which  conceded  certain  political  rights  to  the  arti- 
sans in  common  with  the  aristocracy  (for  the  constitution  of 
guilds),  and  conferred  upon  himself  the  office  of  burgomaster  for 
life.  The  old  councilors  were  for  the  most  part  removed  and 
some  of  them  banished.  Brun  now  sought  the  support  of  Austria, 
and  the  latter  brought  about  a  reconciliation  between  the  town  and 


376  SWITZERLAND 

1350-1352 

the  exiled  councilors.  But  these  last,  brooding  secretly  over  their 
wrongs,  obtained  the  assistance  of  Count  Hans  von  Rapperswil, 
and  sought  the  ruin  of  the  burgomaster  and  his  faction.  Brun 
was  on  the  alert,  however,  and  sufficiently  informed  of  their  de- 
signs to  take  precautions.  On  the  very  night  that  he  was  to  be 
assassinated,  the  night  of  the  Zurich  massacre,  February  23,  1350, 
he  caused  the  alarm-bell  to  be  rung,  and  many  conspirators  to  be 
themselves  put  to  death ;  only  a  remnant  of  these  escaped.  He  then 
advanced  upon  Rapperswil  and  administered  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  the  inhabitants.  He  endeavored  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  Austria,  and  even  to  form  an  alliance  with  that 
power,  but  this  came  to  nothing.  A  party  in  Zurich  hostile  to 
Brun  gained  the  upper  hand,  and  speedily  destroyed  both  old  and 
new  Rapperswil  (September,  1350).  By  this  means  Zurich  drew 
upon  itself  the  enmity  of  the  nobility,  and  even  of  Austria,  its 
former  friend,  and  Brun  lost  his  essential  support,  and  was  driven 
to  form  a  league  with  the  peasants  of  the  mountains;  for  Zurich, 
like  Berne  in  the  Laupen  war,  turned  to  the  Forest  States,  with 
whom  it  had  been  occasionally  connected  for  a  century  past.  Brun 
sought  to  gain  what  advantage  he  might  from  so  undesirable  a 
connection.  Thus  on  May  i,  135 1,  the  imperial  free  town  of 
Zurich  entered  the  Perpetual  League  of  the  Confederates,  and  by 
this  means  the  Federation  was  firmly  established  in  the  plains. 

It  was,  however,  impossible  that  Austria  should  look  on  in 
silence  while  the  Confederation  increased  step  by  step  at  her  ex- 
pense. Duke  Albert,  therefore,  renewed  the  attempt  (in  which  his 
brother  had  failed  at  the  battle  of  Morgarten)  to  destroy  the  Con- 
federation. In  September,  135 1,  with  16,000  men,  he  laid  siege 
to  Zurich,  which  was  defended  by  a  federal  garrison.  The  Con- 
federates inclined  to  peace,  but  the  demands  of  Austria  were  so 
exorbitant  that  negotiations  were  abandoned  and  the  war  was 
continued.  In  December,  135 1,  troops  from  Zurich,  after  dev- 
astating the  baths  at  Baden,  were  surprised  at  Tatwil  on  their 
return  journey  by  Austrians,  and  had  some  difficulty  in  making 
their  escape.  In  this  second  struggle  Zurich  and  the  Forest  States 
conquered  Glarus.  This  latter  territory,  which  belonged  to  Aus- 
tria, having  been  long  at  variance  with  its  rulers,  and  having  en- 
tered into  alliance  with  the  Forest  States  as  early  at  1323,  wel- 
comed the  Confederates  as  deliverers.  The  inhabitants  repulsed 
the  Austrian  bailiff  at  Rautifeld  near  Nafels,  and  on  June  4,  1352, 


THE     CONFEDERATION  377 

1352-1353 

joyfully  entered  the  Perpetual  League  of  the  Confederates.  Zug 
also,  forsaken  by  Duke  Albert,  now  yielded  to  the  Confederates, 
and  joined  the  league  June  27,  1352.  Upon  this,  Duke  Albert 
resolved  to  retrieve  his  losses  at  one  blow.  All  his  adherents 
supplied  him  with  troops,  and  Berne  too  was  obliged  to  send  a 
contingent,  in  accordance  with  the  former  alliance.  On  June  21, 
1352,  he  advanced  upon  Zurich,  as  in  the  previous  year,  that  being 
the  nearest  important  outpost  of  the  Confederates,  but  encountered 
such  valiant  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  men  of  Zurich  and  their 
allies  that  in  three  weeks'  time  he  raised  the  siege,  internal  dissen- 
sions arising  among  his  own  troops.  But  under  Brun's  manage- 
ment Zurich  had  assumed  a  sort  of  intermediate  position  between 
Austria  and  the  Confederation,  and  felt  itself  rather  a  free  imperial 
town  than  a  member  of  the  Federal  League,  and  consequently  the 
peace  which  was  now  concluded  in  September,  1352,  called  from 
its  negotiator  the  Peace  of  Brandenburg,  was  somewhat  unfavora- 
ble to  the  Confederates.  Glarus  and  Zug  were  to  be  once  more  in 
subjection  to  Austria,  even  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden  were  again 
forced  to  pay  tribute  and  taxes  to  that  power,  and  all  the  Confed- 
erates bound  themselves  to  form  no  further  alliances  with  other 
towns  or  lands  belonging  to  the  duke. 

In  return,  the  league  was  increased  by  the  accession  of  the 
town  of  Berne.  The  Bernese  had  been  obliged  to  furnish  Austria 
with  auxiliaries  against  Zurich,  but  they  had  not  the  slightest  inten- 
tion of  quarreling  with  the  Forest  States,  who  had  befriended  them 
at  the  time  of  the  campaign  of  Laupen.  Immediately  upon  the 
reconciliation  between  Austria  and  the  Forest  States  by  the  Peace 
of  Brandenburg,  Berne  concluded  a  Perpetual  League  with  the 
Confederates  on  March  6,  1353;  this  could  be  done  without  coming 
into  direct  hostility  with  Austria,  since  the  Austrian  League  per- 
mitted the  renewal  of  former  amities.  Thus  a  second  imperial 
town  joined  the  Confederation,  a  town  whose  position  and  author- 
ity dominated  the  whole  of  what  is  now  western  Switzerland. 
Berne  formed  a  powerful  bulwark  toward  the  southwest,  as  did 
Zurich  toward  the  northeast.  Hence  the  entrance  of  both  these 
towns  into  the  Federal  League  not  only  assured  the  continuance  of 
the  Confederation,  but  also  secured  for  it  a  certain  amount  of 
political  power  in  the  German  empire. 

Some  conditions  of  the  Peace  of  Brandenburg  remaining  un- 
fulfilled, Duke  Albert  of  Austria  accused  the  Confederates  of  break- 


378  SWITZERLAND 

1354-1375 

ing  the  peace,  carrying  his  complaint  to  the  Emperor  Charles  IV., 
then  at  the  head  of  the  empire.  The  latter,  after  many  attempts 
had  been  made  to  come  to  terms,  declared  war  against  the  Con- 
federation in  the  name  of  the  empire  in  June,  1354.  He  appeared 
before  Zurich  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  imperial  army,  and  was 
joined  by  Duke  Albert  and  his  adherents.  Zurich  now  for  the 
fourth  time  (since  1292)  saw  Austrian  troops  before  her  gates — 
with  as  little  result  as  before,  however,  for  the  Confederates  defied 
the  enemy,  though  the  numbers  of  the  latter  were  ten  times  as  great 
as  their  own.  Owing  to  delay,  dissensions  arose  in  the  camp  of 
the  imperial  army;  many  of  the  nobility  were  offended  by  the 
haughty  Duke  of  Austria;  the  imperial  towns  feared  to  injure  their 
own  position  and  to  give  the  princes  an  advantage  by  attacking  the 
imperial  town  of  Zurich,  and  the  Emperor  Charles  IV.  was  himself 
inclined  to  peace.  Brun  was  not  slow  to  avail  himself  of  this  dis- 
position. He  caused  the  imperial  flag  to  be  hoisted  on  the  walls  of 
Zurich,  in  order  to  call  to  mind  the  loyalty  of  Zurich  to  the  empire. 
The  feud  with.  Zurich  being  thus  made  to  appear  a  merely  Austrian 
undertaking,  the  imperial  towns  withdre  f^  their  allegiance.  Charles 
IV.  therefore  raised  the  siege,  and  himself  offered  to  act  as  media- 
tor; which  offer  Zurich,  wearied  by  the  protracted  struggle  with 
Albert,  finally  accepted.  Terms  were  settled  on  July  24,  1355,  by 
the  Peace  of  Regensburg,  The  latter  was  almost  identical  with  the 
Peace  of  Brandenburg;  Zurich  again  negotiated  quite  as  a  free  im- 
perial town,  and  undertook  to  induce  the  Confederates  to  accept  the 
peace;  and  the  oath  was  taken.  Brun  even  succeeded  in  per- 
suading Zurich  to  enter  into  alliance  with  Austria.  This  equivocal 
demeanor  on  the  part  of  Zurich  only  ended  with  the  death  of  Brun 
in  1360,  and  the  Confederates  then  once  more  advanced  against 
Austria  with  one  accord.  Schwyz  took  possession  of  the  town  and 
territory  of  Zug,  and  Austria  was  forced  to  give  her  consent  to  this 
step,  in  1368,  by  the  Peace  of  Thorberg;  Zug  was  now  once  more  a 
member  of  the  league. 

A  long  period  of  peace  next  followed,  during  which  both 
parties  recruited  their  strength,  and  even  joined  hands  in  friend- 
ship, being  unexpectedly  united  by  the  presence  of  a  common  foe. 
Baron  Ingelram  von  Coucy,  grandson  of  Leopold  I.  of  Austria, 
and  son-in-law  of  Edward  III.  of  England,  required  the  dukes  of 
Austria  to  give  up  Aargau,  which  he  claimed  in  his  mother's  right ; 
and  not  obtaining  it,  he  invaded  Switzerland  in  1375   with  a  nm 


THE     CONFEDERATION  379 

1375-1382 

merous  army  of  French  and  English  mercenaries.^  Terror  and 
dismay  were  universal  at  the  devastation  wrought  by  these  undis- 
ciplined troops.  Wherever  they  went  crops  were  destroyed,  men 
and  cattle  butchered,  and  villages,  churches,  and  monasteries  set  on 
fire.  In  this  emergency  Austria  sought  reconciliation  with  the 
Confederates,  and  renewed  the  Peace  of  Thorberg.  She  also  con- 
cluded an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  the  towns,  from 
which,  however,  the  country  districts  held  aloof  out  of  hatred  to 
Austria. 

The  Confederates  advanced  immediately  against  the  "  Gug- 
lers*';  in  December,  1375,  a  few  troops  from  Lucerne,  Entlebuch, 
and  Unterwalden  repulsed  one  division  of  mercenaries  at  Buttis- 
holz  in  the  district  of  Sursee;  troops  from  Berne  and  Fribourg 
attacked  another  division  at  Ins  (or  Jens),  and  the  Bernese  alone 
finally  gained  a  brilliant  victory  over  the  main  army  near  the 
monastery  of  Fraubrunnen.  The  rest  of  the  invaders,  partly  owing 
to  these  defeats  and  partly  to  the  want  of  provisions  and  the  se- 
verity of  the  winter,  were'Tompelled  to  withdraw  without  attaining 
their  object.  The  love  of  war  and  enterprise  was  no  little  aroused 
in  the  Confederates,  and  notably  in  Berne,  by  these  events ;  and  the 
first  Swiss  war  songs  celebrated  the  victories  of  Berne  over  France 
and  England.  The  common  danger  had,  however,  confirmed  the 
peace  with  Austria. 

The  second  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  period  of  the 
greatest  and  most  rapid  growth  of  the  Confederation,  was  very 
favorable  to  the  development  of  civic  communities.  In  both 
France  and  Germany  the  towns  fearlessly  opposed  the  nobility  and 
princes,  and  even  seemed  to  aim  at  the  government  of  the  empire. 
Beyond  the  Rhine  the  town  of  Berne  was  especially  disposed  to 
wage  a  war  of  extermination  against  the  nobility.  Before  this 
town  there  lay  a  field  ripe  already  to  harvest,  for  the  Burgundian 
nobility  either  died  out  or  became  increasingly  impoverished  by  the 
then  growing  want  of  money.  The  Counts  of  Kiburg,  too,  were 
much  reduced,  and  obliged  to  sell  or  mortgage  one  estate  after 
another.  Count  Rudolf  still  tried  to  obtain  money  and  spoil  by 
violent  attacks  upon  the  towns;  and  in  1382  he  endeavored  to  sur- 
prise the  town  of  Soleure  under  cover  of  night  and  fog  (Massacre 
of  Soleure).    But  the  plot  was  discovered,  it  is  said,  by  Hans  Roth 

2  These  troops  received  the  nickname    of    "  Gugler"  on  account   of    their 
headgear  resembling  a  cowl  (Swiss-German,  "Gugel"). 


880  SWITZERLAND 

1382-1386 

of  Rumisberg,  a  peasant.  Soleure  and  Berne  called  upon  the 
Confederates  for  aid,  and  a  protracted  war  was  commenced  against 
the  house  of  Kiburg,  which  ended  to  the  advantage  of  the  towns, 
in  spite  of  a  futile  siege  of  Burgdorf.  Berne,  with  the  help  of  the 
Confederates,  destroyed  the  fortresses  and  castles  of  the  nobility  of 
Kiburg,  and  acquired  the  towns  of  Burgdorf  and  Thun,  which 
were  retained  till  1384;  and  the  house  of  Kiburg  was  forced  to 
promise  to  commence  no  future  war  without  the  consent  of  Berne 
and  Soleure.  By  this  means  Berne  became  lord  of  the  upper  and 
middle  districts  of  the  Aar. 

But  this  again  led  to  friction  with  Austria,  since  during  the 
war  with  the  house  of  Kiburg,  Austria,  notwithstanding  promises 
to  the  contrary,  had  secretly  supported  that  house  and  seemed 
disposed  to  avenge  its  destruction.  The  Confederates  also  no 
longer  hesitated  to  support  the  enemies  of  Austria.  In  order  to 
be  able  successfully  to  oppose  the  princes  and  nobles  of  South  Ger- 
many, the  southern  towns  of  Germany  had  formed  themselves  into 
a  great  alliance,  and  thus  had  come  into  conflict  with  Leopold  IIL, 
Duke  of  Austria.  In  February,  1385,  Zurich,  Berne,  Soleure, 
Lucerne,  and  Zug  made  common  cause  with  the  allied  towns  in 
opposition  to  Leopold ;  the  three  Forest  States  held  aloof,  probably 
fearing  the  ascendency  of  the  towns.  Leopold  thought  to  avail 
himself  of  this  division  of  interests  among  the  Confederates,  and 
endeavored  by  all  manner  of  favors  to  win  the  rural  communes 
to  his  cause  while  venting  his  wrath  upon  the  towns.  Notwith- 
standing many  urgent  entreaties,  he  denied  to  Lucerne  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  burdensome  toll  of  Rothenburg.  At  the  same  time  he 
sought  to  keep  the  peace  as  long  as  possible.  The  Confederates, 
however,  who  had  formerly  waited  to  be  attacked,  now  themselves 
urged  on  the  war,  although  the  peace  with  Austria — renewed  for 
eleven  years  in  1376 — was  not  yet  expired.  War  was  declared  by 
them  on  all  sides:  Zurich  attacked  Rapperswil;  Zug  the  Austrian 
fortress  of  Saint-Andre  on  the  Lake  of  Zug ;  Lucerne  on  Christmas 
Day  destroyed  Rothenburg,  admitted  Entlebuch,  then  hard  pressed 
by  the  lord  of  Thorberg,  the  Austrian  bailiff,  into  a  civil  alliance, 
and  finally  did  the  same  for  Sempach,  which  was  striving  to  free 
itself  from  the  Austrian  dominion  (January,  1386). 

After  such  gross  violations  of  the  treaty  Austria  could  hesi- 
tate no  longer.  The  imperial  towns,  it  is  true,  sought  even  yet  to 
adjust   matters   peaceably;   but   these   attempts    at    reconciliation 


^  <^ 


THE     CONFEDERATION  381 

1386-1387 

merely  caused  delay,  and  the  towns,  being  just  then  threatened  by 
Bavaria,  made  terms  with  Austria  and  forsook  the  Confederates. 
The  valiant  Duke  Leopold  now  resolved  to  strike  a  decisive  blow 
at  the  Confederation.  The  universal  dislike  and  animosity  felt 
by  the  nobility  toward  both  townsmen  and  peasants  favored  his 
desires,  and  a  numerous  body  of  knights  joined  him  from  the 
Austrian  territories  of  Thurgau  and  Aargau,  and  from  Suabia, 
Burgundy,  and  Alsace.  In  order  probably  to  separate  the  forces 
of  the  Confederates,  Leopold  sent  a  portion  of  his  army  against 
Zurich,  while  he  himself,  with  the  main  body  of  his  troops — 
6000  men  in  all — advanced,  in  the  beginning  of  July,  1386,  against 
Sempach,  Rothenburg,  and  Lucerne.  The  Confederates  left  the 
inhabitants  of  Zurich  to  defend  their  own  territory,  and  marched 
against  Leopold  with  a  force  of  only  about  1500  men. 

On  July  9  the  two  armies  met  unexpectedly  at  Sempach,  and  a 
battle  ensued.  The  nobles  prepared  for  the  attack  by  alighting 
from  their  horses,  the  ground  being  unsuitable  for  the  use  of 
horses.  The  Austrians  formed  a  close  column,  with  their  spears 
pointed  against  the  Confederates,  who  were  chiefly  furnished  with 
short  weapons,  and  were  drawn  up  in  the  form  of  a  wedge.  The 
Austrians,  moreover,  stood  on  higher  ground,  and  hence  the  Con- 
federates suffered  severely  at  the  commencement  of  the  action,  and 
Leopold  imagined  the  victory  secure.  But  then  (according  to 
later  but  authentic  accounts)  one  of  the  Confederates,  the  brave 
Arnold  Winkelried,  is  said  to  have  pressed  forward  careless  of  his 
own  life,  and  opened  a  breach  in  the  hostile  ranks.  Encouraged 
by  this  heroic  example,  the  Confederates,  their  wedge  shape  broken, 
dashed  forward  upon  the  Austrians,  over  the  corpse  of  the  slain 
man,  and  dealt  such  blows  with  their  halbeards  and  clubs  upon 
the  enemy  that  the  latter,  suffering  greatly  at  the  same  time 
from  the  weight  of  their  armor  in  the  sultry  heat  of  July,  could  not 
long  hold  out.  In  vain  did  Duke  Leopold  dash  into  the  thick  of 
the  fight  to  arrest  the  flight  of  his  men;  his  life  was  sacrificed  with 
those  of  the  bravest  of  his  knights.  Part  of  the  Austrian  army — 
mostly  pages  with  the  horses — had  already  taken  to  flight.  Be- 
tween 700  and  1500  Austrians  had  fallen,  among  them  600  of  the 
highest  nobility,  while  the  Confederates  lost  only  about  120.  This 
brilliant  and  encouraging  victory  of  the  Confederates  made  a  deep 
and  far-reaching  impression.  In  it  the  fate  of  the  Austrian  power 
in  Switzerland  was  determined.      The  Bernese,  who  had  hitherto 


382  SWITZERLAND 

1387-1393 

held  aloof  from  the  struggle  because  the  Peace  of  Thorberg  was  not 
yet  expired,  now  also  took  up  arms,  and  possessed  themselves  of 
the  dominions  of  Fribourg  and  Austria  in  the  Bernese  Oberland 
(Obersimmenthal,  Unterseen,  and  Oberhofen)  and  in  Seeland. 
The  remainder  of  the  Confederates  joined  Glarus,  their  ancient 
ally,  took  possession  of  the  Austrian  town  of  Wesen  in  August, 
1386,  and  placed  a  garrison  there.  Glarus  drove  out  the  Austrian 
bailiffs,  and  in  1387  was  annexed  to  the  Confederation  as  an  inde- 
pendent and  free  community. 

Meanwhile  Duke  Albert,  Leopold's  brother,  unwilling  to  sur- 
render his  dominions  so  easily,  turned  his  force  against  Glarus. 
Wesen  was  first  recovered  by  treachery  and  cruelty.  Austrian 
soldiers  were  smuggled  into  the  town  by  the  help  of  some  of  the 
townsmen,  and  put  the  Federal  garrison  to  death  (Massacre  of 
Wesen,  February  22,  1388).  The  Austrians — 6000  strong — next 
advanced  against  Glarus,  and  were  encountered  on  April  9,  1388, 
by  500  men  of  Glarus  and  a  handful  from  Schwyz  at  Nafels.  The 
men  of  Glarus  posted  themselves  behind  the  "  Letzi  "  (a  rampart) 
which  enclosed  the  entrance  to  the  valley,  but  were  forced  to  yield 
to  superior  numbers.  While  the  Austrians  dashed  blindly  up  the 
valley  in  search  of  plunder  the  men  of  Glarus  assembled  themselves 
at  the  side  of  the  valley  on  a  hillock  on  the  slope  of  the  Rautiberg. 
The  Austrians  turned  hastily  in  that  direction,  but  were  received 
with  a  shower  of  stones  and  thrown  into  confusion.  The  men  of 
Glarus,  under  Mathias  Ambiihl,  dashed  impetuously  down,  threw 
themselves  upon  the  enemy,  and  drove  them  in  a  protracted 
struggle  down  the  valley  toward  the  "  Letzi,"  and  over  it  as  far  as 
Wesen:  1700  of  the  enemy  are  said  to  have  perished;  many  were 
drowned  in  the  Linth.  Wesen  was  taken  by  the  men  of  Glarus 
and  given  to  the  flames.  After  many  castles  had  been  destroyed,  in 
April,  1389,  the  imperial  towns  effected  a  truce  of  seven  years 
between  Austria  and  the  Confederates,  which  secured  their  con- 
quests to  the  latter. 

Austria  afterward  sought  to  retrieve  her  losses  by  entering 
into  alliance  with  Schono,  the  burgomaster,  and  the  small  council 
of  Zurich,  who  were  still  well  disposed  toward  Austria,  as  they  had 
been  in  1356.  But  the  citizens,  most  of  whom  were  loyal  to  the 
Confederation,  destroyed  the  treaty  and  expelled  the  traitorous 
faction  in  1393.  An  alteration  in  the  constitution  strengthened  the 
democratic  element  in  Zurich,  and  the  new  union  of  the  Confed- 


1393-1412 


THE     CONFEDERATION 


383 


erates  found  worthy  expression  in  the  Convention  of  Sempach.  An 
amicable  settlement  was  made  with  Austria,  and  on  July  i6,  1394, 
the  seven  years'  peace  was  lengthened  to  twenty  years.  Glarus, 
like  Zug,  now  formed  a  free  member  of  the  Confederation.  The 
war  of  liberation,  which  had  lasted  almost  a  century,  was  brought 


to  a  conclusion  in  May,  14 12,  by  a  further  extension  of  the  peace 
for  fifty  years. 

After  so  many  struggles  and  hostilities  the  position  of  the 
Confederation  was  at  length  assured  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
Austria  surrendered  her  claims  to  the  dominion  of  Schwyz  and 
Unterwalden,  her  rights  over  Lucerne,  Zug,  and  Glarus  for  as  long 
as  the  peace  should  last.  The  power  of  the  nobility  in  the  Con- 
federation was  shattered. 

The  wars  of  freedom  of  the  Swiss  peasants  and  townsfolk, 
which  form  but  a  link  in  the  great  chain  of  the  struggles  of  those 


384»  SWITZERLAND 

1388-1393 

times  between  aristocracy  and  democracy,  acquired  a  more  general 
significance  from  the  fact  that  similar  democratical  efforts  had  been 
suppressed  in  other  lands.  The  rising  of  the  peasants  in  England 
and  the  revolt  of  French  citizens,  which  took  place  about  the  same 
time,  failed;  and  contemporary  with  the  victories  of  Sempach  and 
Nafels  was  the  battle  of  Doffingen  in  1388,  where  the  free  citizens 
of  southern  Germany,  when  almost  victorious,  succumbed  to  the 
blows  of  their  princes.  Thus  it  was  reserved  to  the  Swiss  alone  to 
found  a  state  of  a  civic  and  republican  nature.  It  was,  to  begin 
with,  greatly  in  their  favor  that  the  Dukes  of  Austria  were  at  a 
distance,  and  that  their  attention  was  claimed  simultaneously  on 
all  sides.  But  they  owed  their  success  yet  more  to  their  warlike 
capacity,  their  readiness  in  battle,  and  their  bravery.  A  special 
strength  and  a  peculiar  character  were  also  conferred  upon  them 
by  the  combination  between  peasantry  and  townsfolk,  a  combina- 
tion found  nowhere  else  in  Europe. 

But  this  very  combination  was  the  chief  cause  that  the  internal 
political  conditions  of  the  various  members  of  the  league  differed 
widely,  and  even  in  some  cases  formed  complete  contrasts  to  one 
another.  In  the  interior  cantons  of  Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden, 
and  Glarus,  and  partially  also  in  Zug,'  the  chief  power  rested  in  the 
Lands gemeinde,  which  was  derived  from  the  ancient  Markgemeinde 
in  the  thirteenth  century.  To  this  every  man,  from  the  age  of 
sixteen,  had  access ;  it  assembled  every  year,  elected  the  magistrates 
(the  Landamman,  the  council,  and  the  treasurer),  determined  taxes, 
and  decided  as  to  proposed  laws;  it  also  exercised  judicial  powers. 
At  the  same  time,  according  to  ancient  German  custom,  there  was 
no  difference  as  to  right  of  voting  between  the  meanest  peasant  and 
the  highest  burgher,  and  the  attainment  of  political  majority  was 
signified  as  among  the  old  Giermans  by  the  bearing  of  weapons  in 
the  assembly. 

The  towns  had  a  more  aristocratic  constitution.  But  even 
among  them  there  were  again  great  differences,  especially  between 
Zurich  and  Berne.  In  Zurich  since  Rudolf  Brun's  time  the  guilds 
formed  of  tradesmen  and  artisans  had  a  share  in  the  government, 
and  much  resembled  the  old  free  and  knightly  families  or  patricians, 
who  alone  had  formerly  been  entitled  to  vote.  The  wardens,  i.  e., 
the  masters  of  the  thirteen  guilds,  with  the  thirteen  councilors,  the 

'  Zug  had  indeed   a  civic  constitution   of   its   own,   but   formed   a  Lands- 
gemeinde  canton  collectively  with  Menzingen,  Aegeri  and  Baar   (the  "Amt")- 


THE     CONFEDERATION  S85 

1388-1393 

representatives  of  the  Consfafel  (the  society  of  noble  citizens  of 
ancient  descent),  together  formed  the  council.  By  the  side  of  the 
existing  "  small  council  "  an  enlarged  "  great  council  "  (of  the 
200)  gradually  developed  in  course  of  time,  privileged  to  represent 
the  communes.  But  whereas  Brun  had  endowed  the  office  of  a 
burgomaster  with  almost  monarchical  powers,  divers  events,  espe- 
cially the  treachery  of  Schono  in  1393,  led  to  a  restriction  of  that 
office  and  a  strengthening  of  the  great  council,  as  also  of  the  college 
of  wardens.  In  contrast  to  those  of  Zurich,  the  artisans  of  Berne 
acquired  no  influence  whatever ;  the  guilds  could  take  no  active  part 
in  political  matters,  and  the  government  was  carried  on  exclusively 
by  the  council,  composed  of  members  of  distinguished  families  of 
the  nobility.  There  were  also  great  differences  as  to  the  position 
in  the  league  which  the  various  states  occupied,  as  well  as  in  their 
internal  constitutional  conditions.  The  three  Forest  States  formed 
a  group  by  themselves,  and  became  the  nucleus  around  which  the 
other  members  gathered.  All  the  remaining  states,  which  had  con- 
cluded no  special  league  among  themselves,  allied  themselves  to 
them,  and  they  were  united  by  the  closest  bond  of  fellowship  among 
themselves.  The  provisions  of  the  league  were  the  same  for  all 
three.  They  mutually  bound  themselves  to  render  constant  and 
prompt  aid  to  one  another ;  none  of  the  three  might  enter  into  for- 
eign negotiations  without  the  knowledge  and  advice  of  the  others; 
the  punishment  of  offenses  in  matters  concerning  the  league 
appertained  to  all  in  common.  Being  thus  bound  by  a  species  of 
community  of  rights  dating  from  the  Perpetual  League  of  13 15, 
they  already  represented  a  league  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word. 
The  other  states,  on  the  contrary,  were  by  no  means  so  closely  united 
among  themselves.  The  Confederation  was  formed  gradually  by 
the  accession  of  new  members,  till  at  last  a  many-sided  whole  was 
produced.  The  treaties  of  alliance  were  in  every  case  regelated 
according  to  the  special  needs  of  the  moment  and  local  condi- 
tions. Thus  the  League  of  Lucerne  differs  essentially  from 
others.  The  rendering  of  aid  is  made  conditional  upon  the  dis- 
tressed state  affirming  itself  upon  oath  to  be  in  the  right,  and  upon 
formal  notice  given.  No  member  may  interfere  with  the  internal 
affairs  of  another,  and  no  party  to  the  League  may  conclude  an 
alliance  without  the  consent  of  all  the  Confederates. 

The  League  of  Zurich  is  the  first  to  describe  a  Federal  circle 
within  which  aid  should  be  rendered — Grimsel,  Aare,  Rhine,  Thur, 


386  SWITZERLAND 

1248-1350 

Ringgenberg  near  Truns,  Platifer  near  Faido,  Doisel  near  Lax  in 
Upper  Valais — and  the  stipulations  with  regard  to  such  aid  are 
fixed  more  definitely.  Internal  dissensions  are  to  be  settled  by  arbi- 
tration, each  party  to  elect  two  judges,  and  they  to  deliberate  at 
Einsiedeln.  Should  there  be  no  majority,  an  arbitrator  is  elected, 
whose  decision  shall  be  final.  Further,  every  party  retains  the  right 
of  forming  alliances,  and  Zurich  moreover  asserts  her  right  to 
demand  immediate  assistance  of  the  Forest  States  should  her  guilds 
or  her  burgomaster  be  in  danger.  Finally,  all  ancient  rights  and 
customs  are  guaranteed  at  the  outset.  Every  ten  years  both  old 
and  young  shall  swear  to  this  alliance.  In  contrast  to  Zurich, 
Glarus  is  treated  with  scant  respect  in  her  league,  and  almost  like 
a  dependency,  while  Zug  enters  into  the  rights  enjoyed  by  the 
Forest  States  in  the  Treaty  of  Zurich.  Berne  maintained  a  favor- 
able position,  including  freedom  of  alliance  and  a  guarantee  for 
her  existing  territory.  Thus  the  Confederation  was  by  no  means  a 
political  structure.  It  was  but  loosely  held  together ;  Zurich,  Berne, 
and  Lucerne,  for  example,  were  not  directly  allied  to  one  another  at 
all,  but  only  through  the  medium  of  the  Forest  States. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  this  slight  formation,  the  league  was 
durable.  While  the  leagues  of  the  German  and  Italian  towns,  and 
even  of  the  Hans  towns,  fell  to  pieces,  the  Swiss  Federation,  after 
centuries  of  duration,  is  the  only  example  of  a  state  which  had  its 
origin  in  free  alliances.  Notwithstanding  local  differences,  we  find 
even  in  these  early  times  essential  points  in  common  between  the 
political  aims  and  views  of  the  Confederates.  For  instance,  from 
the  earliest  times  the  various  states  would  suffer  no  exceptional 
advantages  to  be  given  to  the  clergy,  and  in  spite  of  violent  protest 
regularly  assessed  the  monasteries  within  their  territory  (e.  g.,  Uri 
laid  taxes  upon  Wettingen,  Schwyz  upon  Einsiedeln),  and  the  towns 
likewise  subjected  their  religious  houses  to  the  authority  of  the 
state. 

Twice  (in  1248  and  1338)  Zurich  expelled  the  insubordinate 
clergy,  drew  taxes  from  their  estates  in  spite  of  the  prohibition  of 
the  Bishop  of  Constance,  and  kept  a  watchful  eye  upon  their  con- 
duct and  management.  The  rural  communities  vied  with  the  well- 
to-do  towns  in  the  abolition  of  ground-rents  and  feudal  rights, 
which  they  owed  to  divers  spiritual  and  temporal  lords,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  fourteenth  century  they  gradually  freed  themselves 
by  purchase  from  the  greater  part  of  these  burdens,  as  for  example 


THE     C0N;FEDERATI0N  887 

1380*1400 

Uri  from  Wettingen  and  Fraumiinster,  Schwyz  from  ^insiedeln, 
Kappel  and  Engleberg,  Glarus  from  Sackingen.  Both  the  towns 
and  the  rural  communities  were  exceedingly  anxious  to  induce  the 
emperor  to  release  them  from  their  obligations  to  the  empire  and 
from  its  jurisdiction,  and  desired  to  obtain  dominion  and  sovereign 
rights,  such  as  county  courts,  penal  judicature,  and  the  rights  of 
coinage  over  their  adjacent  territory,  and  to  annex  the  latter.  The 
efforts  of  Uri,  Schwyz,  Lucerne,  Berne,  and  Zurich  were  successful, 
and  the  latter  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  had 
little  by  little  acquired  dominion  over  the  greater  part  of  the  present 
canton,  and  had  by  strenuous  efforts  obtained  her  emancipation 
from  imperial  bailiffs,  tolls,  and  taxes.* 

The  course  of  events  soon  obliged  the  Confederates  to  establish 
federal  principles  which  should  be  generally  binding,  and  to  enact 
federal  laws.  When  Bruno  Brun,  Provost  of  the  Grosstniinster 
in  Zurich,  and  his  brother,  Herdegen  Brun,  the  two  sons  of  the 
burgomaster,  having  taken  part  in  an  attack  upon  Peter  von  Gun- 
doldingen.  Mayor  of  Lucerne,  refused,  as  ecclesiastics,  to  appear 
before  the  secular  court,  it  was  ordained  by  the  "  Priests'  Charter  " 
(Pfaffenbrief)  of  October  7,  1370,  by  the  majority  of  the  Confed- 
erates (six  states),  that  ecclesiastics  should  be  under  the  authority 
of  the  state  and  should  occupy  no  exceptional  position;  that  all 
feuds  and  assaults  should  be  forbidden  and  all  roads  protected.  On 
July  10,  1393,  all  the  eight  states  united  with  Soleure  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  common  military  ordinance,  called  the  Convention  of 
Sempach  (Sempacherbrief) ,  The  voluntary  enterprises  of  indi- 
viduals, unauthorized  pillage,  and  the  ill-treatment  of  sacred  spots 
and  of  defenseless  women  were  prohibited  by  this  ordinance.  This 
is  the  only  example  in  those  days  of  fierce  and  warlike  passions 
of  any  statutory  settlement  of  military  discipline  in  the  interests  of 
order  and  humanity,  and  it  testifies  amply  to  the  high  purpose  of 
the  Federal  League,  and  also  to  earnest  endeavor  toward  a  firmer 
alliance. 

From  all  these  circumstances  it  is  evident  that  the  Confederates 

*The  most  important  acquisitions  of  Zurich  (mostly  obtained  by  purchase) 
were:  1358,  Zollikon;  1384,  Kussnach  and  Goldbach,  Hongg;  1385,  Thalwil; 
1400,  Erlenbach;  1402,  Greifensee;  1405,  Mannedorf;  1406,  Maschwanden,  Hor- 
gen,  Riischlikon;  1408,  Griiningen,  Stafa,  Hombrechtikon,  Monchaltorf;  1409, 
Regensberg  and  Biilach ;  1410,  Meilen ;  1415,  Freiamt  (by  conquest) ;  1424, 
Riimlang;  1424  and  1452,  the  county  of  Kiburg  (Tosstal,  lower  Glattal,  the 
"Wine  Land")  ;  1484,  Stein  on  the  Rhine;  1496,  Eglisau,  etc 


388 


SWITZERLAND 


1400 


had  no  definite  preconceived  idea  in  view,  nor  did  they  advance  in 
full  consciousness  of  a  task  to  be  achieved,  but  only  sought  to  realize 
step  by  step  whatever  was  attainable  and  possible  under  existing 
conditions.  In  contrast  to  the  unbridled  revolutionary  attempts  of 
the  lower  classes  in  France,  England,  and  other  parts,  which 
occurred  about  this  time,  the  Confederation,  by  their  moderate 
measures,  averted  any  strong  reaction,  and  rendered  steady  progress 
possible. 


I 


Chapter   VI 

SWITZERLAND   AT   THE   HEIGHT   OF   HER    POWER 

1400-1516 

HAD  the  Federal  League  of  eight  states  remained  unmo- 
lested after  the  victorious  issue  of  the  war  of  independence, 
and  unnoticed  by  surrounding  neighbors,  it  would  hardly 
have  expanded  of  itself.  But  it  had  set  an  example  which  began  to 
kindle  the  surrounding  countries  and  aroused  such  desires  after 
freedom  that  the  Confederates  could  not  remain  inactive.  Hence 
the  league  began  to  spread  on  all  sides,  and  the  Confederation  soon 
stood,  as  it  were,  surrounded  by  a  strong  rampart  of  free  communi- 
ties, the  largest  and  most  important  of  which  were  Appenzell,  Valais, 
and  the  Grisons. 

The  right  of  dominion  over  Appenzell  and  over  the  towns  of 
St.  Gall  had  gradually  devolved  to  a  great  extent  upon  the  Abbot  of 
St.  Gall.  But  while  the  abbots  were  endeavoring  to  maintain,  and 
even  to  extend  their  rights,  the  inhabitants  of  Appenzell,  St.  Gall, 
and  other  dependencies  were  striving  for  greater  freedom  in  face 
of  the  various  struggles  for  independence  going  on  around  them. 
As  early  as  1377  Abbot  George  von  Wildenstein  was  unable  to  hin- 
der the  people  of  Appenzell,  Hundwil,  Gais,  and  Teufen  from  ally- 
ing themselves  with  southern  German  towns  around  the  Lake  of 
Constance,  and  from  appointing  a  common  administration  freely 
elected  by  themselves.  The  election  of  this  administration  gradually 
led  to  the  regular  establishment  of  the  so-called  Lands gemeinde. 
Insubordination  quickly  made  its  appearance  on  all  sides.  The 
town  of  St.  Gall,  which  possessed  an  imperial  charter  dating  from 
the  thirteenth  century,  and  had  for  many  years  had  its  own  corpora- 
tion, had  previously  entered  the  league  of  the  towns.  An  insurrec- 
tion broke  out  in  Wil.  Abbot  George's  successor,  however,  Cuno 
von  Stoffeln,  who  became  abbot  in  1379,  seemed  to  have  mastered 
the  movement  by  skillful  policy  and  rigid  discipline.  He  even 
entered  into  alliance  with  the  imperial  towns,  and  by  their  help 
forced  the  inhabitants  of  Appenzell  to  do  him  homage,  and  to  pay 


390  SWITZERLAND 

1400-1405 

tributes,  rents,  and  tithes;  double  taxes  were  laid  upon  the  mal- 
contents. 

This  was  the  signal  for  an  open  and  general  rising.  The 
people  of  Appenzell,  in  desperation,  leagued  themselves  in  1401  with 
the  town  of  St.  Gall  and  advancing  upon  the  castle  of  Clanx,  which 
belonged  to  the  abbot,  they  took  it.  By  the  efforts  of  the  imperial 
towns,  however — the  abbot  himself  having  become  a  burgher  of 
Lindau — St.  Gall  was  once  more  reconciled  to  the  abbot.  But  the 
people  of  Appenzell  persisted  in  their  rebellion,  allied  themselves 
in  1402  with  Schwyz,  which  sent  them  aid,  and  prepared  for  war, 
destroying  many  castles  and  carrying  their  ravages  almost  to  St. 
Gall  itself.  Meanwhile  the  troops  of  the  imperial  towns,  summoned 
by  Cuno,  had  arrived  at  that  town.  On  May  15,  1403,  these  troops, 
together  with  the  abbot's  retainers  and  the  men  of  St.  Gall — 5000 
men  in  all — advanced  toward  the  heights  of  Vogelinseck  on  the 
"Letzi  "  ^  (near  Speicher),  where  200  men  from  Appenzell,  with 
300  from  Schwyz  and  200  from  Glarus,  awaited  them.  After  a 
brief  engagement  the  enemy  was  forced  to  yield;  250  of  them  re- 
mained dead  upon  the  field.  The  imperial  towns  then  concluded  a 
peace  with  the  inhabitants  of  Appenzell,  leaving  the  abbot  to  con- 
tinue the  struggle  (1404).  The  latter  sought  help  from  Austria, 
and  Duke  Frederick  reluctantly  consented  to  interpose.  Upon  this 
the  inhabitants  of  St.  Gall  again  attached  themselves  to  those  of 
Appenzell,  and  the  latter  were  also  supported  by  Count  Rudolf  von 
Werdenberg,  who  had  been,  through  his  own  fault,  dispossessed  of 
his  estates  by  Austria. 

The  Austrians  advanced  in  two  divisions,  one  encamped  before 
St.  Gall  and  the  other  prepared  to  attack  Altstatten.  While  the 
former,  under  Duke  Frederick,  devastated  the  neighborhood  of  St. 
Gall,  the  latter  advanced  from  Altstatten  toward  the  frontier  at  the 
Stoss.^  The  Austrians  crossed  the  "  Letzi "  successfully ;  but  the 
men  of  Appenzell  and  Schwyz  dashed  suddenly  down  upon  them 
from  the  heights,  hurling  down  stones  and  trunks  of  trees;  the 
Austrians  could  scarcely  keep  their  feet  upon  the  slippery  ground 
and  were  soon  put  to  flight,  from  four  to  five  hundred  being  slain. 
The  division  under  the  duke  retired  to  St.  Gall.  This  was  on  June 
17,  1405. 

The  duke,  discouraged,  withdrew  from  the  war,  whereupon 
the  men  of  Appenzell,  giving  rein  to  their  youthful  prowess,  speedily 
*  A  redoubt  or  rampart.  '  The  name  of  a  mountain-spur. 


I 


AT    HEIGHT    OF    POWER  891 

1405-1412 

achieved  unexpected  successes.  They  renewed  their  league  with 
St.  Gall,  and  in  the  course  of  their  victorious  march  conquered  the 
whole  of  the  Rheintal,  liberated  the  towns  of  Werdenberg,  Sargans, 
Feldkirch,  and  Bludenz,  and  concluded  with  them  the  "  League 
above  the  Lake "  ^ ;  the  province  of  Toggenburg  also  entered 
this  alliance.  This  league  formed  as  it  were  a  second  Confedera- 
tion side  by  side  with  that  of  the  Swiss,  held  its  own  diets,  and  acted 
as  an  independent  power  toward  foreign  countries.  In  the  flush 
of  victory,  and  in  revenge  for  old  scores,  the  men  of  Appenzell 
devastated  the  territories  of  neighboring  lords  and  hostile  towns; 
they  proclaimed  liberty  to  the  peasant  everywhere,  and  in  a  brief 
space  of  time  destroyed  over  fifty  castles.  Thurgau  and  Vorarlberg 
were  overrun ;  the  county  of  Kiburg  and  the  whole  of  Suabia  were 
thrown  into  alarm  and  excitement  by  the  unbridled  fury  of  the  invin- 
cible mountain  folk.  Every  effort  was  therefore  made  to  oppose 
them.  In  the  first  instance  the  burgesses  of  Constance  and  the 
nobility  of  Suabia  joined,  fell  upon  the  men  of  Appenzell  suddenly, 
in  January,  1408,  before  Bregenz,  the  lake  being  frozen,  and  put 
them  to  flight. 

In  consequence  of  this  defeat  the  "  League  above  the  Lake  " 
was  dissolved,  and  the  pride  of  the  inhabitants  of  Appenzell  was 
crushed ;  they  now  desisted  from  further  interference  with  neighbor- 
ing districts.  But  now  they  were  again  threatened  on  their  own 
territory,  the  emperor  endeavoring  to  force  them  into  subjection  to 
the  abbot.  The  Confederates,  on  the  other  hand,  supported  them, 
and  on  November  24,  141 1,  they  were  received  by  the  seven  states, 
all  the  eight  states  except  Berne,  as  a  subordinate  member  of  the 
league,  and  taken  under  protection  by  a  treaty  of  perpetual  citizen- 
ship.* Liberty  was  secured  to  Appenzell  by  its  accession  to  the 
Swiss  League. 

In  the  next  year  the  town  of  St.  Gall  followed  its  example, 
after  having  compelled  the  new  abbot  to  acknowledge  its  freedom 
and  independence.  In  vain  did  the  abbots  endeavor  to  recover  their 
sovereign  rights ;  they  were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  cer- 
tain rents  and  taxes,  which,  moreover,  were  gradually  remitted. 
The  alliance  of  Appenzell  and  St.  Gall  with  the  Confederates  was 
renewed  after  the  Zurich  War,  in  which  they  had  served  as  a  sup- 
port against  Austria,  and  was  confirmed  for  all  time. 

The  inhabitants  of  Valais,  like  those  of  Appenzell,  turned  to 
*"Bund  oh  dent  See."  *"  Ein  ewiges  Burg-  und  Landrecht." 


392  SWITZERLAND 

1412-1416 

the  Confederates  for  help  in  obtaining  their  freedom.  Here,  too, 
there  had  existed  since  very  early  times  a  tolerable  number  of  free 
folk,  confronted  by  a  powerful  nobility.  The  land  was  divided 
politically  into  two  districts.  Upper  Valais,  which  was  chiefly 
German,  was  under  the  Bishop  of  Sion;  Lower  Valais,  with  a 
Romance  (French)  population,  under  the  Count  of  Savoy.  The 
former  gradually  acquired  a  position  of  freedom,  like  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Appenzell  under  their  abbot,  and  like  so  many  provinces 
under  ecclesiastical  dominion;  several  communities  called  Zehnten 
acquired  certain  liberties  which  in  1354  were  ratified  by  the  Emperor 
Charles  IV.  Every  Zehnte  had  its  own  jurisdiction,  and  all  stood 
alike  under  one  council  and  one  governor  general. 

The  bishop  had  often  formerly  sought  to  defend  himself  against 
such  efforts  for  freedom  by  a  league  with  the  counts  of  Savoy ;  the 
latter,  however,  thought  to  avail  themselves  of  this  alliance  to  ex- 
tend their  own  rights  in  the  Valais.  With  this  view,  Count  Ama- 
deus  VIL  of  Savoy  interfered  in  a  dispute  between  the  nobility  and 
the  people.  A  devastating  war  broke  out,  in  which,  in  1388,  soon 
after  the  victory  of  the  Confederates  at  Nafels,  Amadeus  and  the 
nobility  were  defeated  at  Visp  by  the  Valaisans.  Upper  Valais  was 
by  this  means  secured  against  Savoy. 

But  a  new  danger  threatened  from  the  direction  of  the  mighty 
Baron  von  Raron.  The  family  of  Raron  was  at  that  time  the  most 
powerful  in  the  Valais,  and  united  the  offices  of  a  bishop  and  a 
governor  general ;  it  was  also  strongly  supported  by  Berne,  in  which 
town  the  family  enjoyed  civic  rights,  and  by  the  dukes  of  ]\Iilan. 
The  barons  therefore  expected  to  be  easily  able  to  subjugate  the 
land.  But  in  1414,  the  Confederates  being  expelled  by  them  in 
concert  with  Savoy  from  Eschental,  which  had  been  taken  from 
Milan,  the  Valaisans  rose  in  revolt ;  the  Landsturm  ^  was  called  out, 
the  mazza  ^  was  raised,  and  all  flocked  to  their  country's  flag.  Beau- 
regard, the  ancestral  castle  of  the  Rarons,  was  destroyed  and  the 
family  driven  out  in  141 5.  The  Raron  family  then  seeking  the  help 
of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  the  people  of  Upper  Valais  concluded  in 
1416  a  ten  years'  treaty  of  citizenship  with  Uri,  Unterwalden,  and 
Lucerne,  with  whom  they  had  long  been  on  terms  of  friendly  alli- 
ance for  purposes  of  trade.    The  Bernese,  however,  supported  the 

•  A  general  levy  of  the  people. 

«  A  club  upon  which  was  carved  a  human  face  in  agony,  which  was  carried 
from  village  to  village  as  a  symbol  of  revolt* 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  393 

1416-1420 

Raron  family  as  their  fellow-citizens.  War  broke  out  afresh,  and  a 
furious  struggle  ensued.  Now  the  Bernese  and  Witschard  von 
Raron  invaded  Valais,  robbing  and  plundering;  now  the  men  of 
Valais  made  incursions  into  Bernese  territory.  The  Bernese  and 
their  allies  advanced  against  Upper  Valais  in  1419  with  a  p>owerful 
force.  Devastation  followed  in  their  train  and  a  fearful  panic  en- 
sued. Then  a  gallant  patriot,  Thomas  Riedi  by  name,  assembled 
a  few  hundred  adherents,  fell  upon  the  enemy  at  Ulrich,  and  com- 
pelled them  to  retreat.     Valais  once  more  was  saved. 

In  1420  the  Confederates  negotiated  a  peace,  which,  owing  to 
the  machinations  of  Berne  and  Savoy,  proved  unfavorable  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Valais,  and  the  latter  was  allotted  to  Berne  and 
the  Raron  family  as  indemnification.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Valais- 
ans  had  achieved  an  enduring  success.  The  position  of  governor 
general  was  thenceforth  always  occupied  by  a  native  of  the  district 
agreeable  to  the  people,  A  new  constitution  gave  the  people  a 
greater  share  in  the  government,  such  as  the  choice  of  officers, 
judges,  sergeants,  and  members  of  council;  and  the  bishop  might 
not  nominate  his  officials  without  the  consent  of  the  country.  The 
Rarons  left  the  land. 

Hardly  any  other  district  had  undergone  so  many  territorial 
divisions  as  ancient  Rhaetia.  Upon  the  heights  which  encircle  the 
valleys  of  the  Rhine  and  its  tributaries  there  stood,  and  as  romantic 
ruins  still  remain,  numerous  castles  then  in  the  possession  of 
powerful  nobles,  as  those  of  Razuns,  Montfort,  Werdenberg,  Bel- 
mont, Triens,  Aspermont,  Montsax  (Misox),  and  Vaz.  The  bish- 
ops of  Coire  owned  a  specially  extensive  territory ;  almost  the  whole 
land  was  under  their  rule,  with  the  exception  of  the  valleys  of  the 
Upper  Rhine,  Pratigau,  and  Davos,  and  not  a  few  noble  families 
were  their  feudal  vassals.  But  at  the  same  time  many  free  com- 
munes existed  there,  similar  to  the  Zehnten  in  Valais;  these  were 
called  Jurisdictions  (Gerichte),  and  were  the  champions  of  free- 
dom. Their  gradual  emancipation  was  favored  by  the  circum- 
stance that  their  many  lords  either  held  one  another  in  check  or 
made  common  cause  with  the  people,  in  order  to  restrict  the  power 
of  the  bishops'  ecclesiastical  dominion.  For  this  reason  the  people 
of  those  parts  mostly  lived  on  unusually  friendly  terms  with  the 
nobility. 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  liberty  was  acquired  by  means  of  alliances, 
the  earliest  of  which  originated  in  the  bishops'  territory.     Bishop 


S94,  SWITZERLAND 

1367-1500 

Peter,  neglecting  the  administration  of  his  community  and  entering 
the  service  of  Austria,  his  subjects,  in  1367,  concluded  the  "  League 
of  God's  House"  (Gotteshausbund).  Later  we  find  adherents  of 
this  league  taking  an  active  part  in  all  important  matters;  they 
held  formal  diets,  superintended  the  administration,  and  only  toler- 
ated the  bishops  at  their  will. 

Soon  after  the  "  League  of  God's  House,"  which  embraced  the 
central  and  southern  parts  (Engadine)  of  the  present  Grisons,  there 
appeared  in  1395  a  similar  league  of  lords  and  communes  in  the 
west,  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Rhine,  on  the  territory  of  the  mon- 
astery of  Dissentis,  which  was  afterward  designated  the  "  Upper  " 
or  "  Gray "  League.  This  league,  to  which  the  various  feuds  of 
the  lords  had  chiefly  given  rise,  provided  a  standing  court  of  arbitra- 
tion, and  was  also  allied  to  the  Forest  States  and  Glarus.  In  1424 
it  was  solemnly  renewed  under  the  maple  at  Trons ;  all  participators, 
both  high  and  low,  enjoyed  equal  rights. 

To  these  two  leagues  a  third  was  afterward  added.  The  ten 
jurisdictions  in  the  eastern  part  of  Rhsetia  (Pratigap,  Schanfigg, 
and  Davos),  which  were  under  the  Counts  of  Toggenburg,  joined 
in  a  league  in  1436,  on  the  death  of  the  last  Toggenburg,  in  order  to 
avoid  dispersion.  By  about  the  middle  of  the  century  these  three 
leagues  had  little  by  little  formed  themselves  into  one  united  league, 
which,  however,  left  all  possible  liberty  to  the  separate  leagues  and 
to  the  high  jurisdictions.  After  this  the  united  leagues  held  com- 
mon diets,  and  in  i486  they  jointly  conquered  the  districts  of  Cleves, 
the  Valtelline,  and  Worms,  which  afterward  became  subject-lands 
of  the  three  leagues  in  common;  and  Puschlav,  which  fell  to  the 
bishopric  of  Coire. 

The  threatening  encroachments  of  Austria  led  them  to  form 
an  alliance  with  the  Confederation.  Sigismund,  Duke  of  Austria, 
in  1477  acquired  the  greater  part  of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions,  and 
Maximilian  tried  to  obtain  the  whole  of  the  Miinsterthal,  the  juris- 
diction of  which  he  shared  with  the  bishop,  in  order  to  enjoy  safe 
communication  with  Milan.  For  this  reason  the  Upper  League 
concluded  a  perpetual  league  with  the  Confederates  in  1497,  and  the 
"  League  of  God's  House  "  in  1498 ;  only  the  Ten  Jurisdictions  were 
kept  aloof  by  xA.ustria.  The  struggle  known  as  the  Suabian  War, 
which  was  thus  brought  about,  established  the  alliance  of  the  Grisons 
with  the  Confederation  for  all  time. 

The  original  cantons  had  early  cultivated  friendly  relations 


AT     HEIGHT    OF     POWER  896 

1400-1425 

with  the  district  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  St.  Gotthard.  The 
traffic  carried  on  by  means  of  this — the  latest  of  the  great  Alpine 
passes — ^brought  about  an  ever-increasing  commerce  between  the 
Forest  States  and  Milan  in  Italy.  Interruptions  occurring  in  this 
commerce  caused  Uri  to  turn  her  attention  to  the  possession  of  the 
higher  district  of  the  Tessin,  the  territory  of  Livinen  (Val  Leven- 
tina).  In  the  year  133 1  it  had  already  been  found  necessary  to 
secure  the  Upper  Tessin  by  a  warlike  campaign.  Then,  in  1402, 
certain  officials  of  the  Viscounts  of  Milan  having  deprived  the  people 
of  the  Forest  States  of  cattle,  which  they  were  taking  to  market  at 
Varese,  on  account  of  their  refusal  to  pay  the  appointed  toll, 
troops  from  Uri  and  Obwalden  marched  over  the  St.  Gotthard  and 
conquered  Livinen;  this  valley  was  the  first  possession  held  by  the 
Confederates  in  common.  After  this,  in  1410,  some  lords  from 
Eschental,  adherents  of  the  Government  of  Milan,  having  robbed 
some  people  from  Faido,  who  were  subjects  of  Uri  and  Odwalden, 
of  their  cattle  upon  one  of  the  Alps,  and  let  fall  some  mocking  words 
against  the  men  of  Uri,  all  the  Confederates  advanced  over  the  St. 
Gotthard  and  across  the  pass  of  Giacomo  into  the  Eschental  as  far 
as  Domo  d'Ossola,  and  conquered  the  whole  territory,  which  thus 
became  the  second  common  possession.  Meanwhile  the  enemies  of 
the  Confederates  in  Valais,  the  lords  of  Raron  and  dukes  of  Savoy, 
looked  on  in  displeasure,  and  in  14 14  an  army  from  Savoy,  aided  by 
the  Rarons,  invaded  the  Eschental  and  drove  out  the  Confederates, 
The  latter,  however,  would  not  yield,  and  after  several  expeditions 
recovered  the  province  in  1417.  Uri  and  Obwalden  in  the  following 
year  purchased  in  addition  the  dominion  of  Bellinzona  of  the  family 
of  Sax. 

Milan  now  exerted  her  powers  to  the  utmost.  The  duke  pre- 
pared to  strike  a  decisive  blow,  and  attacked  Bellinzona.  The 
Confederates  immediately  marched  out;  but  at  variance  among 
themselves,  and  in  scattered  bands,  they  were  defeated  at  many 
places  in  crossing  the  Alps.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  vanguard 
of  the  Confederates  from  Uri,  Lucerne,  Zug,  and  Unterwalden, 
occupying  a  disadvantageous  position  near  Arbedo,  above  Bellin- 
zona, was  surprised  by  the  Milanese  on  June  30,  1422,  and  suffered 
a  sanguinary  defeat  in  spite  of  heroic  resistance  (die  Koline  von 
Zug)  The  Confederates  were  all  obliged  to  retire  and  lost  all  their 
possessions  south  of  the  St.  Gotthard.  In  1425  volunteers  under 
Peter  Rissi  once  more  ventured  over  the  Alps,  and  by  a  bold  stroke 


896  SWITZERLAND 

1400-1412 

captured  Domo  d'Ossola,  but  were  afterward  surrounded  and  hard 
pressed  by  Milanese  troops.  All  the  Confederates,  even  the  Ber- 
nese, promptly  came  to  their  aid,  but  were  unable  to  do  more  than 
rescue  their  distressed  comrades.  It  was  not  until  1440  that  Uri 
contrived  to  repossess  herself  of  Livinen,  which  territory  remained 
thenceforth  a  subject-land  of  Uri. 

For  the  continuance  and  the  untrammeled  development  of  the 
Swiss  Federation  it  was  not  sufficient  merely  to  check  the  claims  of 
Austria,  for  this  seemed  to  have  been  already  achieved  by  the  peace 
of  1412.  The  Confederates  were  still  surrounded  on  all  sides  and 
separated  from  one  another  by  Austrian  territory,  and  therefore  it 
was  soon  felt  to  be  absolutely  necessary  to  enlarge  their  borders. 

The  first  occasion  of  war  came  from  without.  A  great  Council 
had  assembled  in  1414  in  the  imperial  town  of  Constance,  under  the 
auspices  of  King  Sigismund,  to  discuss  the  subjects  of  schism  and 
church  reform.  There  were  at  that  time  three  rival  Popes,  of  whom 
John  XXIII.  possessed  seemingly  strong  claims  to  the  pontificate, 
but  was  the  worst  of  the  three  as  regarded  character  and  morals. 
He  hoped  to  support  his  position,  but  finding  it  impossible,  simu- 
lated repentance  and  announced  his  resignation.  Immediately  re- 
gretting this  step,  however,  in  order  to  embarrass  the  Council  he 
formed  an  alliance  with  Frederick,  Duke  of  Austria,  a  rival  of 
Sigismund,  and  by  his  connivance,  disguised  as  a  post-boy,  fled  to 
Schaflfhausen,  whence  he  fulminated  anathemas  against  the  Council. 
The  assembly  of  the  church,  however,  took  energetic  measures 
against  both  Pope  and  duke.  The  latter  was  put  under  the  ban,  and 
at  the  command  of  Sigismund  an  imperial  war  was  forthwith  com- 
menced against  Frederick  in  141 5.  Sigismund  made  a  special  ap- 
peal to  the  Confederates.  The  latter  could  with  difficulty  bring 
themselves  to  violate  the  peace  of  1412;  and  it  was  only  after 
repeated  and  urgent  warnings  from  Sigismund  and  the  Council, 
and  also  after  many  and  ample  privileges  and  liberties  had  been 
conceded,  that  they  silenced  their  conscience  and  undertook  an 
expedition  against  Aargau.  The  Bernese  were  the  first  to  march 
out,  and  Zofingen,  Aarburg,  Aarau,  Lenzburg,  Brugg,  and  Haps- 
burg  in  quick  succession  flocked  to  the  imperial  standard.  Zurich 
next  followed  and  conquered  a  portion  of  the  Free  Bailiwick  (the 
bailiwick  of  Knonau).  Soon  there  was  no  canton  which  held  aloof. 
Troops  from  Lucerne  took  Sursee,  Vilmergen,  and  Beromiinster, 
and  the  six  cantons  took  Mellingen  and  Bremgarten.    Finally,  the 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  397 

1400-1405 

seven  cantons,  together  with  Berne,  took  Baden  by  storm  on  May 
1 8,  destroying  the  castle  by  fire  (the  Stein). 

All  these  conquests,  having  been  achieved  by  the  Confederates 
as  subjects  of  the  German  empire,  were  bestowed  upon  them  by 
Sigismund  as  imperial  estates  for  a  money  payment,  and  in  141 8 
Frederick  was  forced  to  resign  all  claim  to  them.  The  partition  was 
so  made  that  the  west  fell  to  Berne,  the  bailiwick  of  Knonau  to 
Zurich,  and  the  south  to  Lucerne;  but  that  conquest  in  which  all 
had  taken  part  (Baden  and  the  Free  Bailiwicks)  became  the  com- 
mon property  of  the  six,  and  later  of  the  seven,  cantons.  Thus  did 
the  Confederates  acquire  their  first  enduring  "  common  domain." 
Frederick's  kindred,  however,  refused  to  recognize  his  renunciation, 
and  therefore  saw  with  pleasure  the  dispute  which  soon  afterward 
arose  about  the  inheritance  of  the  last  Count  of  Toggenburg,  and 
did  their  utmost  to  widen  the  breach  between  the  Confederates  and 
to  break  up  the  detested  league. 

For  a  long  time  past  there  had  been  antagonisms  between  the 
towns  and  rural  districts,  which  had  arisen  out  of  divers  causes  and 
occurrences,  and  specially  between  Zurich  and  Schwyz,  when  the 
two  latter  states  were  brought  into  conflict  with  one  another  during 
their  efforts  at  expansion,  after  the  extinction  of  the  line  of 
Toggenburg. 

Among  all  the  families  of  the  higher  nobility  in  the  territory 
of  the  Confederates  the  Counts  of  Toggenburg  had  not  only  been 
able  to  hold  their  own,  but  had  even  succeeded  in  extending  their 
power  considerably.  Frederick  VH.  of  Toggenburg  (1400- 
1436),  besides  the  original  possessions  of  his  house  (Toggenburg, 
Utznach,  and  the  Upper  March)  and  the  inheritance  of  the  Vaz 
family  in  Rhaetia,  which  had  fallen  to  the  Toggenburgs  in  the  four- 
teenth century  (Pratigau,  Schanfigg,  Davos,  Churwalden,  Maien- 
feld,  and  Malans),  had  also  obtained  the  mortgage  of  the  interven- 
ing lands  of  Sargans,  Gaster,  Wesen,  and  Windegg,  the  Rheintal 
and  Vorarlberg.  During  the  strife  between  Austria  and  the  Con- 
federates he  cunningly  contrived  to  keep  in  with  both  parties,  and 
also  succeeded  in  defending  his  own  territories  against  the  efforts 
after  liberty  of  the  people  of  Appenzell,  now  by  menaces,  now  by 
friendship.  He  earnestly  sought  the  friendship  of  the  Confederates. 
At  the  commencement  of  his  rule  he  concluded  a  civil  alliance  with 
Zurich  for  eighteen  years,  placing  himself,  his  country,  and  his 
people  under  the  protection  of  Zurich;  in  1405  he  renewed  this 


SWITZERLAND 

1405-1436 

treaty  for  a  similar  period,  and  ten  years  later,  in  1416,  it  was  once 
more  renewed,  to  endure  till  five  years  after  the  death  of  Frederick. 
In  14 1 7  he  concluded  a  treaty  with  Schwyz,  but  only  for  ten  years; 
upon  its  expiration  he  renewed  it,  to  endure  till  five  years  after  his 
death. 

The  people  of  both  Zurich  and  Schwyz  exerted  themselves  to 
be  of  service  to  him,  that  they  might  by  his  means  preserve  their 
own  lands  and  estates.  Zurich  in  particular  spared  no  trouble  or 
sacrifice,  and  the  count  was  greatly  indebted  to  that  town,  Zurich 
endeavoring  to  obtain  from  the  count  in  return  the  domains  of 
Wesen,  Windegg,  and  Gaster.  Schwyz  entertained  hopes  of  acquir- 
ing the  Mark.  The  count  being  childless,  and  the  direct  line  likely 
to  die  with  him,  the  question  of  succession  gradually  became  more 
urgent.  But  Frederick  left  his  numerous  kinsmen  and  the  Confed- 
erates quite  in  the  dark  on  the  subject.  Being  repeatedly  urged  by 
Zurich  to  nominate  a  successor,  he  evaded  the  question,  and  when 
they  became  importunate  about  Wesen  and  Gaster  he  showed  more 
favor  to  Schwyz.  On  April  30,  1436,  he  died  suddenly,  leaving  no 
will. 

A  vehement  agitation  now  arose ;  the  widowed  countess  claimed 
the  inheritance,  and  was  stoutly  supported  by  Zurich.  The  count's 
kinsmen,  however,  Von  Matsch,  Von  Montfort,  Von  Brandis,  Von 
Aarburg,  Von  Raron,  and  Von  Raziins,  maintained  the  will  of  the 
count  to  have  been  that  the  countess  should  have  her  dower  and  a 
pension,  but  that  his  lands  should  descend  to  his  kinsmen.  Schwyz 
took  their  part.  The  affairs  of  that  state  were  then  managed  by 
the  clever,  able,  and  sagacious  Landamman  Ital  Reding,  the  elder, 
who  was  resolved  not  only  to  hinder  the  extension  of  the  power  of 
Zurich,  but  to  gain  for  his  people  a  territory  which  would  secure 
them  a  passage  from  the  upper  lake  of  Zurich  to  Rhaetia,  and  to 
make  Schwyz  the  dominating  power  in  the  whole  of  the  northeast 
of  the  present  Switzerland.  In  opposition  to  Reding  were  the  ambi- 
tious, passionate,  and  self-opinionated  burgomaster,  Rudolf  Stiissi, 
and  the  clever  town  clerk,  Michael  Graf,  a  Suabian.  Each  party 
endeavored  to  overreach  the  other.  Wesen,  Windegg,  and  Gaster 
being  taken  back  by  Austria,  Zurich  succeeded  in  obtaining  Utznach 
from  the  countess ;  Schwyz  took  the  Mark,  concluded  a  treaty  with 
the  inhabitants  of  Gaster,  the  little  town  of  Sargans,  Utznach,  and 
Toggenburg ;  Zurich  was  only  able  to  effect  an  alliance  with  Wallen- 
stadt  and  the  province  of  Sargans. 


AT    HEIGHT    OF    POWER  899 

1436*1442 

After  lengthy  negotiations  the  dispute  about  the  inheritance 
was  decided  in  1437  in  favor  of  the  count's  kinsmen,  and  the  latter 
immediately  hastened  to  form  a  perpetual  alliance  with  Schwyz  and 
Glarus,  and  to  sell  Utznach  to  Schwyz.  In  1438  Austria  also  mort- 
gaged Wesen,  Windegg,  and  Gaster  to  Schwyz  and  Glarus.  Thus 
Schwyz  saw  her  highest  hopes  fulfilled,  while  Zurich  came  off 
empty-handed.  The  latter  being  unable  to  obtain  anything  from 
the  Confederates,  endeavored  to  coerce  Schwyz  by  cutting  them  off 
from  all  means  of  subsistence,  but  without  success.  Schwyz  pro- 
posed to  Zurich  to  abide  by  the  Federal  decree  of  1351,  but  Zurich 
pleaded  that  as  an  imperial  town  it  was  not  binding  upon  her,  and 
that  she  could  only  acknowledge  a  decree  in  which  the  empire  had 
taken  part.  Their  differences  were  irreconcilable,  and  both  parties 
became  so  incensed  that  in  May,  1439,  they  flew  to  arms.  The 
people  of  Zurich  were  at  variance  among  themselves,  one  faction 
adhering  to  the  Confederates,  and  they  were  easily  defeated  on  the 
Etzel.  A  truce  gave  opportunity  for  fresh  preparations,  and  in 
the  autumn  of  1440  they  faced  one  another  once  more  on  the  Etzel, 
above  Pfaffikon.  Stiissi  had  hoped  that  the  other  Forest  States  and 
the  Confederates  would  either  decide  in  favor  of  Zurich  or  else 
remain  neutral ;  hence  the  sudden  appearance  of  troops  from  Unter- 
walden  and  Uri,  in  aid  of  Schwyz  and  Glarus,  so  dismayed  the  men 
of  Zurich  that  they  left  their  breakfast  on  the  tables  and  retreated 
in  haste.  The  result  of  this  was  that  the  whole  of  the  left  bank  of 
the  lake,  together  with  the  bailiwick  of  Knonau,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy;  Zurich  was  moreover  obliged  to  reopen  traffic,  to 
surrender  the  territory  of  Sargans  to  Schwyz  and  Glarus;  and 
Pfaffikon,  Wallerau,  Hurden,  and  Ufenau  ("the  upper  farm- 
steads") to  Schwyz.     It  was  a  bitter  humiliation. 

This  was  in  the  year  1441.  Thenceforth  Stiissi  and  Graf 
thought  of  nought  else  but  how  to  avenge  their  shame  upon  the 
Confederates,  and  to  wrest  the  spoil  again  from  Schwyz.  A  league 
with  Austria  seemed  the  most  available  means.  Like  Brun  in  1356, 
and  Schono  in  1393,  so  Stiissi  and  his  faction  did  not  scruple  to 
depend  entirely  upon  Austria.  Under  her  influence  (chiefly  indeed 
through  the  agency  of  the  foreign  town  clerk),  the  burgesses  of 
Zurich,  in  June,  1442,  concluded  a  formal  defensive  alliance  with 
Austria  (the  Emperor  Frederick  III.  and  his  brother  Albert),  in 
spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  Federal  faction  (led  by  Meiss,  Trink- 
ler,  and  Bluntschli),  and  even  promised  to  surrender  to  Austria  the 


400  SWITZERLAND 

1442-1443 

greater  part  of  the  county  of  KiburgJ  Frederick  on  his  part  under- 
took to  secure  Toggenburg  and  Utznach  to  Zurich,  and  it  was  fur- 
ther intended  to  found  a  new  Austrian  Confederation  with  Zurich 
at  its  head.  Frederick  III.  ratified  the  agreement  by  a  personal  visit 
which  he  paid  to  Zurich,  which  town  received  him  joyfully  with  the 
insignia  of  Austria,  peacocks'  feathers  and  red  crosses.  The  town 
then  received  Austrian  governors,  Thiiring  von  Hallwil  and  William 
von  Hochberg.  The  righteous  wrath  of  the  whole  Confederation 
was  directed  against  the  recreant  member.  Zurich  protested  her 
right  of  free  alliance,  reserved  to  her  indeed  by  the  terms  of  the 
Zurich  League  of  1351,  but  limited  by  the  interests  of  the  Federal 
leagues:  in  the  eyes  of  the  Confederates  it  was  justly  regarded  as 
an  offense  against  the  spirit  of  the  league,  against  old  friends  and 
inherited  principles.  The  conduct  of  Zurich  gave  to  the  hereditary 
enemy  of  the  Confederates  an  opportunity  once  more  to  assert  his 
authority  in  the  midst  of  the  Confederation.  The  whole  German 
empire  regarded  this  feud  merely  as  an  Austrian  enterprise  and 
refused  their  help,  in  spite  of  all  Frederick's  efforts. 

Zurich  refusing  to  give  up  the  Austrian  alliance,  the  Forest 
States  on  May  20,  1443,  declared  war  against  that  town  and  Aus- 
tria. The  forces  of  Zurich,  after  an  unfortunate  engagement  on 
the  frontier  near  Freienbach,  retreated  as  far  as  the  "  Letzi  "  on 
the  heights  of  Hirzel.  But  here  also  they  met  with  no  success  for 
want  of  unity  among  themselves,  their  main  force  being  on  the 
heights  of  the  Albis.  Thus  for  the  second  time  the  left  bank  of  the 
lake  and  the  Free  Bailiwick  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates. 

Berne  also  now  took  part  against  Zurich,  and  all  the  Confeder- 
ates took  possession  of  the  whole  of  her  territory.  They  then  with- 
drew to  attend  to  their  own  affairs,  and  after  a  month's  rest  a 
second  expedition  was  set  on  foot,  intended  to  advance  straight  upon 
Zurich  through  the  Free  Bailiwick.  The  inhabitants  of  Zurich, 
contrary  to  the  advice  of  their  Austrian  commanders,  advanced 
across  the  Sihl  to  meet  them,  and  on  July  22,  1443,  they  engaged 
in  a  battle  near  the  Sihl  at  St.  Jakob,  in  which,  without  order  and 
without  discipline,  they  were  overcome,  and  soon  completely  routed. 
Stiissi  himself  fell  while  endeavoring  to  arrest  the  flight  with  a 
few  faithful  followers  by  a  valiant  defense  of  the  bridge  over  the 

"^  The  county  of  Kiburg  had  been  mortgaged  to  Zurich  by  Austria  in  1424. 
Only  the  New  Bailiwick,  the  district  on  the  left  side  of  the  Glatt,  now  re- 
mained to  Zurich. 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  401 

1443-1444 

Sihl.  The  enemy  was  with  difficulty  prevented  from  entering  the 
town  itself.  Graf,  the  town  clerk,  was  stabbed  by  a  fellow-country- 
man. Through  the  agency  of  the  Bishop  of  Constance  a  peace  was 
brought  about,  which  was  so  little  observed  by  either  side  that  it 
obtained  the  name  of  the  bose  or  "  bad  "  peace.  But  in  the  spring 
of  1444,  when  a  definite  peace  was  about  to  be  arranged,  party  strife 
broke  out  once  more,  and  the  Austrians  incited  their  partisans  in 
Zurich  to  the  utmost  against  the  leaders  of  the  Federal  party,  brand- 
ing them  as  traitors.  A  rising  of  the  people  ensued;  Brunner, 
Meiss,  Zornli,  Effinger,  Bluntschli,  and  other  adherents  of  the  Con- 
federates were  arrested  as  enemies  of  the  "  Fatherland,"  and  several 
of  them  were  executed  in  April. 

After  the  expiration  of  the  truce  the  Confederates  took  the 
field  once  more  with  a  large  force  in  April,  1444,  and  overran  the 
territory  of  Zurich  for  the  third  time,  devastating  the  whole  district; 
they  then  sat  down  before  the  stronghold  of  Greifensee,  which  was 
bravely  defended  under  Wildhans  von  Breitenlandenberg  for  almost 
four  weeks.  Finally  the  garrison  was  obliged  to  yield,  and  out  of 
sixty-two  men  all  but  ten  were  mercilessly  beheaded  at  the  end  of 
May  in  a  meadow  at  Nanikon.  Soon  afterward,  in  June,  Zurich 
itself  was  surrounded  and  besieged.  The  town,  however,  suffered 
little,  being  defended  with  the  utmost  vigilance;  a  party  of  adven- 
turous youths  of  Zurich  (afterward  called  the  Bocke  or  "  Valiant  ") 
did  considerable  damage  among  the  Confederates  by  surprises  and 
pillage,  but  could  not  induce  them  to  raise  the  siege. 

In  order  to  bring  matters  to  some  decisive  issue,  Austria  began 
to  look  for  outside  help,  and  incited  Charles  VII.  of  France  to  an 
enterprise  against  the  Swiss.  Meanwhile,  and  until  these  auxiliaries 
should  come  to  their  relief,  the  Austrians  endeavored  to  divert  the 
Confederates  from  Zurich.  In  July  Thomas  von  Falkenstein,  on 
behalf  of  the  Austrians,  surprised  the  little  Bernese  town  of  Brugg, 
but  was  obliged  to  retire  with  his  forces  to  the  Farnsburg.  There- 
upon the  Bernese,  with  some  auxiliary  troops  of  the  Confederates, 
besieged  that  fortress. 

At  length,  on  August  23,  the  dauphin  advanced  upon  Basle 
with  30,000  predatory  mercenaries,  called  Armagnacs,®  to  the  relief 
of  the  Farnsburg  and  Zurich,  and  to  enable  the  Austrians  to  con- 
quer the  Confederation.  A  little  band  of  about  1300  Confederates 
hastened  to  meet  him  from  the  Farnsburg  and  Zurich,  but  with 
injunctions  not  to  be  drawn  into  an  engagement.  After  obtaining 
*  Because  one  of  their  former  leaders  had  been  a  Count  of  Armagnac 


40«  SWITZERLAND 

1445-1450 

insignificant  victories  over  the  advanced  guards  at  Prattein  and 
Muttenz  (August  26),  however,  the  moment  they  came  in  sight 
of  the  hostile  forces  on  the  Birs  they  threw  themselves  upon  them, 
and,  notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of  the  authorities,  dashed 
across  the  river  with  reckless  confidence  toward  the  mighty  army. 
But  being  soon  hard  pressed  by  the  enemy's  cavalry,  they  established 
themselves  behind  the  garden  wall  of  the  Hospital  of  St.  Jakob  an 
der  Birs  and  fought  with  the  courage  of  lions.  The  Armagnacs 
flagged  and  desired  peace.  The  Austrian  knight,  Burkhard  Miinch, 
went  to  the  garden  wall  to  come  to  terms  with  the  Confederates; 
but,  letting  fall  some  scornful  words,  a  Swiss  flung  a  stone  at  him, 
causing  a  wound  of  which  he  soon  afterward  died.  The  strife 
endured  till  the  last  of  the  Confederates  had  fallen.  In  death  they 
were  victorious,  for  the  loss  of  the  dauphin  was  so  great  (2000 
men)  that  he  abandoned  the  enterprise,  made  peace  in  October,  and 
withdrew.  The  Confederates  before  Zurich  also  retired,  and  a 
desultory  war  was  carried  on  until,  after  the  lapse  of  two  years,  the 
Confederates  having  won  a  brilliant  victory  over  the  Austrians  at 
Ragatz,  in  March,  1446,  general  exhaustion  caused  both  parties  to 
desire  peace. 

Zurich  still  obstinately  continued  to  insist  upon  her  rights  as  a 
free  imperial  town  in  regard  to  the  Austrian  League,  and  thus  pro- 
tracted the  negotiations  (1446-1450).  At  length,  by  the  decision 
of  Heinrich  von  Bubenberg,  of  Berne,  appointed  as  arbitrator  in  the 
name  of  the  imperial  towns,  it  was  finally  settled  that  Zurich  must 
abandon  the  Austrian  alliance  in  the  interests  ot  the  Confederation. 
Thenceforth  the  Swiss  League  was  no  longer  to  be  regarded  merely 
as  a  loose  alliance  of  individual  states,  but  as  a  political  union,  to 
be  forever  binding  uf>on  every  member.  The  Confederates  gave 
back  to  Zurich  all  the  lands  they  had  conquered  with  the  exception 
of  the  "  upper  farmsteads  "  on  the  Lake  of  Zurich.  In  Zurich  itself 
Federal  principles  once  more  obtained  entirely;  and  thus  it  came  to 
pass  that  during  the  celebration  of  Shrove  Tuesday  in  Zurich,  in 
1454,  Hammerlin,  the  canon,  was  surprised  by  a  number  of  Con- 
federates and  taken  a  prisoner  to  Gottlieben,  because  in  his  writings 
about  the  nobility  he  had  ridiculed  the  men  of  Schwyz  as  "  effemi- 
nate cows'  mouths"  (weibische  Kuhmduler),  and  had  represented 
them  as  a  mob  of  detestable  and  depraved  peasants.  The  spirit  of 
the  league  seemed  to  have  revived;  Zurich  and  the  Confederates 
held  once  more  firmly  together  and  rejoiced  in  their  newly  acquired 


I 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  403 

1450-1460 

independence  of  Austria.  But  the  destructive  effects  and  conse- 
quences of  the  war  might  long  be  traced  in  agricultural  damages 
and  a  serious  retrogression  in  the  habits  of  the  people. 

After  the  old  Zurich  War  the  Federal  leagues  were  extended. 
As  early  as  1450  Glarus  had  obtained  a  new  league,  placing  her  on 
an  equality  with  the  other  states.  In  the  years  145 1  and  1454 
Zurich,  Lucerne,  Schwyz,  and  Glarus  took  first  the  abbot  and  then 
the  town  of  St.  Gall  into  a  perpetual  civil  alliance.  In  1452  the 
seven  states  (the  eight  with  the  exception  of  Berne)  took  Appenzell 
again  into  the  league  as  an  allied  state.  As  soon,  as  the  Confeder- 
ates were  once  more  united  among  themselves  they  felt  their 
strength,  and  let  no  opportunity  pass  of  exhibiting  their  military 
prowess  and  extending  their  territory.  The  period  now  began 
during  which  they  neglected  the  occupations  of  peace  for  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  in  which  they  had  already  so  often  been  put  to  the 
test ;  the  period  when  an  overweening  and  almost  ungovernable  pas- 
sion for  war  animated  every  Swiss  and  drew  him  from  one  war 
into  another.  Young  companions  in  arms,  eager  for  adventure, 
advanced  now  into  Hegau,  now  into  Thurgau,  to  punish  their  neigh- 
bors for  mere  teasing  and  pestering.  In  this  mood  they  were  not 
likely  to  spare  their  old  enemy,  Austria.  Upon  the  return  of  an 
expedition  against  Constance  in  1458  (Plappartkrteg) ,  forces  from 
the  Forest  States  offered  their  aid  to  the  Federal  faction  in  Rap- 
perswil,  where  complaints  were  being  made  of  the  Austrian  Govern- 
ment, and  conquered  that  town.  Even  earlier,  in  1454,  the  Austrian 
town  of  Schaffhausen  had  also  concluded  a  league  for  twenty-five 
years  with  the  Confederates ;  Stein  on  the  Rhine  now  followed  suit, 
and  in  1459  formed  an  alliance  with  the  states  of  Zurich  and  Schaff- 
hausen. 

Duke  Sigmund,  of  Austria,  a  son  of  Frederick,  considered  these 
proceedings  a  fresh  breach  of  the  peace  and  prepared  for  war;  a 
truce  was,  however,  made.  Soon  afterward  the  Confederates  were 
incited  against  the  duke  by  his  foes,  the  detested  barons  of  Gradner, 
and  were  finally  actually  urged  to  war  by  Pope  Pius  II.,  who  had 
quarreled  with  the  duke.  In  the  midst  of  the  peace  youths  from 
the  Forest  States,  Zurich,  and  Glarus  marched  into  Thurgau.  The 
main  army  followed,  and  in  September,  1460,  rapidly  conquered  the 
greater  part  of  that  district ;  Diessenhofen,  too,  was  obliged  to  yield, 
and  Winterthur  only  maintained  a  successful  resistance.  Appenzell 
simultaneously  wrested  from  Austria  the  Rheintal,  claimed  by  that 


40i  SWITZERLAND 

1460-1468 

power.  Duke  Sigtnund,  by  a  peace  concluded  in  1461  for  fifteen 
years,  was  forced  to  acquiesce  in  the  cession  of  all  conquests  to  the 
Confederates.  Austria  thus  lost  the  Rhine;  a  triumphant  song  of 
that  time  rejoices  that  Sigmund  will  now  be  able  to  throw  no  more 
bridges  over  the  Rhine. 

Austria  soon  afterward  lost  Mulhausen,  another  post  on  the 
Middle  Rhine.  Harassed  by  the  nobility  of  Alsace,  this  town,  in 
1466,  concluded  a  defensive  alliance  for  twenty-five  years  with 
Berne  and  Soleure,  and  when  the  nobility,  detesting  the  Swiss, 
inflicted  all  sorts  of  injuries  on  this  "  Swiss  cowshed,"  the  allies 
placed  a  garrison  in  the  town.  The  Austrian  governor  thereupon 
wanted  to  take  the  town  by  force,  but  his  attempt  only  resulted  in 
all  the  states  advancing  before  the  town  and  occupying  Sundgau 
in  1468.  Schaffhausen,  the  outpost  of  the  Swiss  toward  the  north, 
being  also  continually  harassed  by  the  surrounding  nobles,  and  it 
being  fruitless  to  complain  to  Austria,  the  Confederates  openly  de- 
clared war  against  Duke  Sigmund,  and  in  July,  1468,  on  their 
return  from  Sundgau,  besieged  the  strong  fortress  of  Waldshut. 

The  people  of  southern  Germany  were  now  so  favorably  dis- 
posed toward  the  Confederates,  and  so  disaffected  toward  Austria 
and  the  nobility,  that  it  seemed  almost  as  if  the  whole  district  of  the 
Black  Forest  might  attach  themselves  to  the  former.  But  the  garri- 
son of  Waldshut  exhibited  unexpected  bravery,  so  that  the  Confed- 
erates achieved  nothing,  and  peaceable  terms  were  arranged.  By 
the  Peace  of  Waldshut,  of  August,  1468,  Sigmund  promised  satis- 
faction to  the  town  of  Mulhausen  and  Schaffhausen,  and  to  the 
Confederates  the  sum  of  10,000  florins  toward  the  expenses  of  the 
war ;  Waldshut  and  the  Black  Forest  were  appointed  pledges.  Thus 
the  struggles  with  the  Confederates  resulted  in  ever  fresh  debts  and 
losses  of  territory  on  the  part  of  Austria.  The  duke  having  been 
compelled  a  year  previously,  in  1467,  to  sell  Winterthur  to  Zurich 
(upon  the  wish  of  the  burgesses  of  the  former),  all  the  possessions 
of  Austria  beyond  the  Rhine,  with  the  exception  of  Frickthal,  were 
now  alienated.  Austria  conceived  an  inveterate  hatred  of  the  Con- 
federates, and  the  two  parties  were  only  to  be  reconciled  by  extraor- 
dinary events  menacing  both  the  Confederates  and  Austria. 

From  the  time  of  the  battle  of  St.  Jakob  an  der  Birs  the  Con- 
federates, having  measured  their  strength  so  successfully  with  one 
of  the  most  powerful  military  forces  of  Europe,  enjoyed  the  respect 
of  the  Continent.  •  The  Swiss  were  held  to  be  without  rivals  in  the 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  405 

1468-1469 

arts  of  war,  and  that  nation  was  considered  fortunate  which  could 
obtain  their  services.  Experienced  men  and  adventurous  youths 
betook  themselves  in  troops  to  foreign  princes  and  towns  and  ren- 
dered their  services  in  war.  The  much-harassed  kingdom  of  France 
sought  the  friendship  of  the  Confederates,  and  afterward  their  arms, 
with  the  utmost  eagerness.  This  was  a  great  advantage  to  them, 
for  whereas  from  the  time  of  the  battle  of  St.  Jakob  an  der  Birs  the 
Confederates  had  had  cause  to  fear  the  menacing  danger  of  an  alli- 
ance between  France  and  Austria,  they  might  now  hope  to  find  in 
France  a  support  against  Austria.  In  1452,  therefore,  they  will- 
ingly concluded  a  treaty  of  amity  with  Charles  VII.,  which  was 
renewed  in  1463  with  his  son  Louis  XL,  who  had  made  their  ac- 
quaintance at  St.  Jakob.  But  Louis  XI.  was  not  the  man  to  further 
the  interests  of  the  Swiss  from  disinterested  motives;  he  rather 
desired  to  obtain  the  favor  of  Austria  and  the  Confederates  in 
order,  by  their  help,  to  overthrow  his  mightiest  vassal  and  mortal 
foe,  Charles  the  Bold  of  Burgundy.  The  Confederates  also  culti- 
vated friendly  relations  with  Burgundy;  the  towns  of  Berne,  Fri- 
bourg,  Soleure,  and  Zurich  had  concluded  a  treaty  of  neutrality  in 
1467  with  Philip  the  Good,  the  father  of  Charles,  and  with  the  latter 
himself. 

Matters  stood  thus  when  Austria,  in  1469  (after  the  Peace  of 
Waldshut  had  been  revoked  by  the  Emperor  Frederick  III.,  cousin 
of  Duke  Sigmund),  sought  in  the  west  financial  support  and  help 
in  case  of  need  in  a  war  against  the  Confederates.  Meeting  with  a 
refusal  from  Louis  XL,  Duke  Sigmund  turned  to  Burgundy.  Charles 
the  Bold,  who  thereupon  began  to  build  great  hopes  for  an  exten- 
sion of  his  power  eastward  toward  Germany,  seized  the  opportunity 
with  avidity,  entered  into  an  alliance  with  Sigmund  in  May,  1469, 
paid  the  latter  50,000  florins,  and  received  in  exchange  Alsace, 
Waldshut,  and  the  Black  Forest.  For  this  the  Swiss  received  10,000 
florins  indemnity.  But  at  the  same  time  Charles  was  obliged  to 
undertake  to  reconcile  Austria  with  the  Confederates,  and  in  the 
case  of  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  Swiss,  or  a  war  between  Switzer- 
land and  Austria,  to  take  part  with  and  defend  the  latter.  This 
completely  contradicted  the  treaty  of  neutrality  of  1467;  Charles 
wantonly  violated  that  treaty  and  by  that  means  gave  great  umbrage 
to  the  Confederates. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  new  Burgundian  bailiff  in  the  mortgaged 
lands  of  Alsace,  Peter  von  Hagenbach,  offended  the  Confederates, 


406  SWITZERLAND 

1469-1474 

provoked  them  by  all  manner  of  intrigues,  and  especially  endeav- 
ored to  annul  the  alliance  of  1466  between  the  Bernese  and  Miilhau- 
sen.  Upon  the  Confederates  complaining  to  Duke  Charles,  the  lat- 
ter gave  harsh  and  equivocal  answers  or  did  nothing  toward  their 
satisfaction.  The  intended  reconciliation  between  the  Confederates 
and  Austria  not  being  achieved,  the  breach  was  widened  between 
the  two  parties,  as  also  that  between  the  Confederates  and  Burgundy. 
Berne  was  naturally  the  leading  state  in  these  matters  and  watched 
with  increasing  exasperation  the  growing  arrogance  of  Charles  and 
Hagenbach.  The  more  Burgundy  repulsed  the  Confederates  so 
much  more  the  Swiss  inclined  toward  France  and  Louis  XL  The 
Lords  of  Diesbach  earnestly  advocated  French  interests  in  Berne, 
and  in  the  then  state  of  afifairs  they  easily  overcame  Adrian  von 
Bubenberg,  the  friend  of  Charles  the  Bold,  and  his  faction.  Louis 
hoped  in  time  to  induce  the  Swiss  to  enter  into  an  offensive  and 
defensive  alliance  against  Burgundy,  to  ally  Austria  with  Switzer- 
land, and  to  take  the  field  against  Burgundy.  His  efforts  were 
extraordinarily  facilitated  by  the  further  course  of  events. 

For  meanwhile  a  breach  and  division  had  taken  place  between 
Austria  and  Burgundy.  One  day  in  the  autumn  of  1473,  when 
Charles  the  Bold  was  awaiting  at  Treves  the  betrothal  of  Max,  son 
of  the  emperor,  with  his  daughter  Maria,  his  own  elevation  to  the 
rank  of  king,  and  investment  with  German  imperial  lands,  the 
Emperor  Frederick  III.  suddenly  left  him  in  the  lurch  and  with- 
drew, in  order  to  rid  himself  of  burdensome  obligations.  Duke 
Sigmund  at  the  same  time  quarreled  with  Charles  because  the  latter 
had  not  fulfilled  his  expectations,  and  was  no  longer  willing  to  sur- 
render Alsace.  Sigmund  and  Frederick  next  allied  themselves  with 
Louis  XL,  and  the  latter  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  effect  a 
permanent  reconciliation  between  the  Confederates  and  Austria. 
This  was  achieved  by  the  "  Perpetual  Peace "  of  March,  1474. 
Austria  renounced  everything  she  had  lost  to  the  Confederates, 
receiving  in  return  the  latter's  promise  of  help  in  war  and  assist- 
ance in  the  recovery  of  the  lands  mortgaged  to  Burgundy.  The 
Confederates  likewise  joined  the  "Lower  Union,"  the  alliance  of 
the  Alsatian  towns. 

Matters  quickly  came  to  a  crisis.  The  people  of  Alsace  revolted 
against  their  cruel  and  oppressive  bailiff,  and  on  May  9  Hagenbach 
was  put  to  death  with  the  cooperation  of  the  Swiss.  While  Charles, 
detained  by  a  quarrel  with  Cologne  and  the  siege  of  Neuss,  was  pre- 


fe  AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  407 

1474-1475 

paring  to  avenge  the  removal  of  his  bailiff,  Louis  XI.  succeeded  in 
the  autumn  in  forming  an  alliance  with  the  Confederates  for  the 
purpose  of  a  united  struggle  against  Burgundy,  and  also  summoned 
Frederick  III.,  all  subjects  of  the  German  empire,  and  more  partic- 
ularly the  Swiss,  to  the  war  against  Burgundy. 

On  October  25  war  was  declared  by  Berne.  Barely  two  days 
afterward  the  Bernese  and  their  allies  advanced  from  Fribourg, 
Soleure,  and  Bienne  into  Franche  Comte,  and  together  with  the  rest 
of  the  Confederates  (8(X>o  in  number)  and  the  army  of  the  Upper 
Rhine  (18,000  men  in  all),  besieged  Hericourt,  which  is  southwest 
of  Belfort,  and  there  on  November  13  defeated  an  army  of  10,000 
Burgundians  and  took  the  town.  Thinking  that  they  had  thus 
fulfilled  their  duty  to  the  empire,  they  then  returned  and  declined  to 
take  part  in  the  relief  of  Neuss  at  the  request  of  Frederick  III., 
desiring  to  protect  "  their  fatherland  and  the  territories  of  Upper 
Germany." 

Louis  XI.  congratulated  them  and  distributed  liberal  pensions ; 
this  was  the  first  time  that  the  Swiss  reaped  such  alluring  and 
dangerous  fruits  of  their  labors.  In  January,  1475,  Savoy  formed 
a  league  with  Burgundy,  and  from  that  time  Berne  and  the  western 
towns  were  constantly  threatened  from  the  side  of  the  Pays  de 
Vaud  and  the  Jura,  and  in  the  spring  there  followed  a  succes- 
sion of  expeditions  made  by  Berne  and  her  allies  into  the  terri- 
tories of  Savoy.  On  April  2,  1475,  the  troops  of  Berne,  Soleure, 
and  Lucerne  took  Pontarlier.  The  Bernese  already  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  extension  of  the  Confederation  as  far  as  the  Jura,  her 
natural  boundary  on  the  west ;  they  conquered  Grandson  and  Orbe, 
belonging  to  vassals  of  Savoy,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1475  recovered 
one  by  one  the  places  taken  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud  by  Peter  of  Savoy. 
Geneva  preserved  herself  from  attack  by  a  promise  of  money.  A 
Savoyan  army,  which  advanced  as  far  as  Sion,  was  repulsed  by 
troops  from  Upper  Valais  and  Berne;  Lower  Valais  yielded  to 
Upper  Valais.  The  power  of  Savoy  seemed  to  be  suddenly  ban- 
ished beyond  the  frontier  of  Switzerland. 

Meanwhile,  however,  Charles  had  conquered  Lorraine  with 
its  capital,  Nancy ;  and,  moreover,  Louis  and  the  emperor  were  faith- 
less enough  to  come  to  terms  with  him,  and  shamelessly  to  desert 
the  Confederates.  Charles  now  found  himself  in  a  position  to  ad- 
vance in  great  force  against  the  Confederates.  He  marched  rapidly 
through  the  Vaud  to  Grandson,  and  owing  to  the  dilatoriness  of  the 


408  .  SWITZERLAND 

1475-1476 

Confederates  was  enabled  to  take  the  little  town,  and  finally  the 
castle  as  well.  The  garrison,  which  had  been  promised  protection 
in  case  of  surrender,  was  cruelly  put  to  death.  At  length  the  Con- 
federates and  their  allies,  18,000  men  strong,  advanced  toward  the 
army  of  the  Burgundians,  at  least  twice  as  numerous  as  their  own, 
and  the  battle  of  Grandson  was  fought  on  March  2,  1476.  A  band 
of  men  from  Schwyz,  Berne,  Lucerne,  and  Soleure,  who  had  sepa- 
rated themselves  from  the  main  army,  took  up  a  position  on  the 
heights  northeast  of  Grandson,  among  the  vines,  and  valiantly  en- 
gaged in  battle,  without  waiting  for  the  rest  of  the  army.  In  order 
to  entice  them  down  into  the  plain  and  there  to  overwhelm  them, 
Charles,  finding  the  efforts  of  his  artillery  and  archers  unavailing, 
commanded  a  retreat  from  Grandson  toward  the  plain;  the  rear 
took  this  for  a  flight,  fell  into  confusion  and  gave  way.  At  that 
moment  the  weapons  and  armor  of  the  advancing  Swiss  force 
glittered  on  the  heights;  loud  blew  the  horns  of  Uri  and  Lucerne, 
spreading  terror  and  dismay  among  the  Burgundians.  Charles 
tried  in  vain  to  arrest  the  flight  of  his  men :  attacked  in  the  van,  the 
rear,  and  the  flank,  the  Burgundians  fled  impetuously,  and  their 
camp,  with  all  stores,  valuables,  and  jewels,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Confederates.  Charles'  fine  and  well-disciplined  army  was 
totally  defeated  by  the  peasant-folk  he  had  so  greatly  despised ;  the 
confident  hope  of  the  Alsatian  nobility,  that  the  Swiss  would  be 
overthrown,  was  dashed  to  the  ground!  This  victory  was  one  of 
the  richest  in  spoil  ever  gained  by  any  people. 

Far  from  being  daunted  by  this  unprecedented  defeat,  Charles, 
with  all  haste,  made  his  preparations  at  Lausanne  for  a  fresh  cam- 
paign, while  Berne  and  Fribourg  occupied  the  important  outpost  of 
Morat,  or  Murten.  As  early  as  June  9  the  duke  appeared  before  that 
place.  The  Bernese  commander,  Adrian  von  Bubenberg,  held  it 
with  only  15,000  men,  but  who  resolved  to  spend  their  last  drop  of 
blood  rather  than  yield.  By  a  most  prudent  defense,  by  a  constant 
renewal  of  the  bulwarks,  by  excellent  discipline,  and  lastly  by  bold 
sallies,  Bubenberg  succeeded  in  holding  the  duke  at  bay  till  the 
forces  of  the  Confederates — after  long  tarrying  and  many  irresolute 
delays — advanced  to  the  number  of  about  24,000  men.  Charles,  how- 
ever, was  at  the  head  of  about  35,000  men.  On  June  22,  the  Ten 
Thousand  Knights'  Day,  and  but  one  day  after  the  anniversary  of 
Laupen,  following  the  example  of  the  knights,  the  Confederates 
marched  from  the  forest  of  Morat  to  the  plateau  northeast  of  the 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  409 

1476-1477 

town,  near  Salvenach  and  Miinchenwiler.  There  the  advanced  guard 
of  the  Confederates  encountered  that  of  the  Burgundians  and  were 
forced  to  retreat  to  the  forest  after  a  short  resistance.  The  main 
body  of  the  Burgundian  army  pursued  them  amid  torrents  of  rain, 
and,  fortified  by  their  artillery,  posted  themselves  behind  quickset 
hedges.  The  main  army  of  the  Confederates  arriving,  led  by  Hans 
Waldmann,  a  violent  struggle  ensued.  The  Swiss  van  (under 
Hans  von  Hallvil)  succeeded  in  breaking  through  the  hedges,  and 
the  spirited  and  heavy  advance  of  the  Confederates  compelled  the 
Burgundians  after  a  few  hours  to  retire  into  the  plain,  where  the 
terrible  slaughter  inflicted  by  the  Confederates  sealed  their  defeat. 
On  the  Burgundian  side  from  8000  to  10,000  men  are  said  to  have 
fallen,  while  the  Swiss  lost  only  500!  The  whole  of  Switzerland 
was  filled  with  rejoicing,  and  bells  were  rung  throughout  the  land. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  victory  of  the  Confederates  was  a 
peace  concluded  with  them  by  Savoy,  by  which  the  latter  surrendered 
to  Berne  and  Fribourg  their  conquered  territories  of  Morat,  Echal- 
lens,  Illens,  Orbe,  and  Grandson,  released  Fribourg, which  had  fallen 
to  Savoy  in  1452,  and  ceded  Lower  Valais  to  Upper  Valais.  No 
peace  was  as  yet  effected  with  Burgundy.  Charles  intended  to  try 
his  fortune  once  more  against  the  Confederates,  but  was  deterred 
by  a  revolt  in  Lorraine.  Rene,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  exiled  by  Charles, 
sought  help  from  the  Confederates,  at  whose  side  he  had  fought  at 
Grandson;  at  the  Diet  of  Lucerne  he  with  tears  implored  help  in 
holding  Nancy,  his  capital,  against  Charles.  No  Federal  aid  was 
granted  to  him,  but  he  was  allowed  to  levy  men  at  will ;  and  about 
8000  Swiss  mercenaries,  under  Hans  Waldmann,  fought  with  him 
at  Nancy,  where  the  haughty  Duke  of  Burgundy  fell  in  the  rout 
like  a  common  soldier.  This  was  the  death-blow  to  the  Burgundian 
power  (January  5,  1477). 

The  next  question  was  the  partition  of  the  conquests  and  of  the 
possessions  of  the  fallen  duke.  The  duchy  of  Burgundy  fell  to 
France.  The  Netherlands  devolved  upon  Maximilian  of  Austria, 
who  married  Maria  of  Burgundy,  daughter  of  Charles  the  Bold. 
Louis  XI.  and  Maximilian  contended  for  Upper  Burgundy  or 
Franche  Comte,  and  both  courted  the  favor  of  the  Confederates,  in 
whose  hands  lay  that  territory.  A  number  of  Federal  states,  how- 
ever, and  Berne  in  particular,  were  specially  desirous  of  keeping 
High  Burgundy  for  themselves,  and  extending  the  Confederation 
toward  the  west.    But  the  states  were  soon  divided,  some,  notably 


410  SWITZERLAND 

1477 

Zurich,  considering  the  country  too  remote ;  and  it  was  finally  agreed 
to  sell  High  Burgundy,  and  thus  to  choose  France  as  a  neighbor 
rather  than  the  Austrian  Hapsburgs.  France  obtained  Franche 
Comte  for  150,000  florins,  but  shortly  afterward  it  fell  during  a  war 
to  the  Hapsburgs,  in  whose  hands  it  remained  till  the  seventeenth 
century.  Meanwhile  the  Confederates  had  by  this  war  assured  their 
position  toward  the  west ;  the  barricade  of  Savoy  was  broken  down 
by  the  conquest  of  strong  places  in  the  Vaud  and  in  Lower  Valais. 
Fribourg  and  Soleure  now  joined  the  Confederates  entirely;  and 
Neuchatel,  whose  count  had  rendered  help  to  the  Bernese,  also  en- 
tered into  alliance  with  them.  Thus  the  western  frontier  of  the 
Swiss  Federation  gradually  approached  the  Jura.  The  Confed- 
eration had  now  taken  its  stand  as  a  European  power,  and  the 
fame  of  the  Swiss  was  in  every  mouth  as  of  the  finest  warriors  in 
Europe. 

The  Burgundian  wars  had  stirred  the  spirit  of  the  people  to  its 
utmost  depths,  avarice  and  love  of  adventure  were  aroused,  and  the 
bands  of  discipline  and  order  became  lax.  Divers  causes  of  friction 
likewise  arose:  the  states  were  divided  as  to  their  future  political 
attitude,  towns  and  rural  districts  filled  with  mutual  mistrust.  The 
towns  had  developed  considerable  power  in  these  wars,  and  had 
assumed  the  position  of  leaders  of  the  Confederation,  and  when 
the  two  towns  of  Fribourg  and  Soleure,  which  had  fought  faithfully 
at  the  side  of  the  others  during  the  Burgundian  War,  afterward 
desired  admission  to  the  league,  the  position  and  influence  of  the 
towns  seemed  to  be  growing  in  a  way  that  the  rural  states  felt 
keenly.  The  latter  passionately  resisted  this  tendency,  especially 
as  the  towns  tried  to  put  a  stop  to  the  liberty  of  foreign  service, 
while  the  rural  states  were  in  favor  of  it.  The  people,  too,  became 
mistrustful  of  the  despotic  government  of  their  lords,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1477  popular  riots  broke  out  in  various  states.  In  Art 
and  Weggis  particularly  the  malcontents  assembled  on  Shrove  Tues- 
day and  lamented  the  policy  of  the  towns  and  the  new  rule  (Herr- 
entum).  It  was  decided  to  fetch  from  Geneva  the  ransom  money 
yet  unpaid  and  to  divide  it  among  themselves.  With  a  wild  desire 
for  war  and  booty,  and  taking  a  club  and  a  sow  for  the  design  of 
their  banner,  they  formed  themselves  into  the  "  Band  of  the  Mad 
Life,"  marched  through  Lucerne,  Berne,  and  Fribourg,  extorting 
entertainment  wherever  they  went.  But  the  diet  and  government 
of  Savoy  succeeded  in  inducing  the  rioters  to  retreat  before  they  had 


AT    HEIGHT    OF     POWER  411 

1478-1481 

attained  their  goal.  The  authorities  in  the  rural  states  having 
favored  this  undertaking,  the  towns  in  anger  resolved  upon  the 
formation  of  a  separate  league  (Sonderbund) ;  and  on  May  2^, 
1477,  the  five  towns  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Lucerne,  Fribourg,  and 
Soleure  united  in  a  perpetual  treaty  (Burgrecht).  They  agreed  to 
protect  one  another  against  such  attacks  as  that  of  the  "  March  of 
the  Sow-banner,"  and  to  insist  upon  the  admission  into  the  league 
of  Fribourg  and  Soleure.  A  great  breach  was  occasioned  in  the 
Confederation;  the  rural  states  were  embittered  to  the  utmost  and 
tried  to  destroy  this  treaty.  They  specially  attacked  the  town  of 
Lucerne,  which  had  no  right,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  league, 
to  make  any  alliance  without  the  consent  of  the  other  Forest  States. 
The  people  of  Obwalden  avenged  themselves  by  inciting  the  sub- 
jects of  Lucerne  in  Entlebuch  to  revolt.  Peter  Amstalden,  the 
governor  of  the  district,  an  innkeeper  of  Schiipfheim  in  Entlebuch, 
headed  the  rebels.  Lucerne,  hearing  of  the  affair,  enticed  Amstal- 
den into  the  town,  had  him  arrested  and  hastily  executed,  in  No- 
vember, 1478,  without  regular  trial.  Great  excitement  followed. 
The  situation  was  so  critical  that  the  dissolution  of  the  Confedera- 
tion was  feared.  Fruitless  efforts  were  made  during  many  diets 
to  effect  a  reconciliation.  At  this  critical  moment  Lucerne  and 
the  rural  states  turned  to  Nicholas  von  der  Fliie  of  Einsiedeln,  a 
man  who  led  a  godly  life  on  the  brink  of  a  lake  near  Sachseln, 
deeply  respected  throughout  the  whole  of  Switzerland,  and  even 
far  beyond  its  borders,  who  gave  loving  counsel  to  all,  and  was 
revered  among  the  people  as  a  worker  of  miracles.  Many  times 
were  messengers  sent  to  him  to  ask  his  advice.  By  the  end  of 
November,  1481,  things  had  gone  so  far  that  a  scheme  was  drawn 
up  for  a  new  league,  by  which,  in  the  interest  of  the  towns,  all 
anarchical  movements  were  to  be  suppressed,  and  a  league  was 
also  projected  with  Fribourg  and  Soleure,  in  which  the  only  re- 
striction laid  upon  those  two  towns  was  that  they  might  enter 
into  no  alliance  without  the  consent  of  the  eight  states.  These 
agreements  needed  only  to  be  ratified  by  instructions  from  the 
authorities. 

Assembling  once  more  in  Stans  on  December  18,  1481,  the  old 
dispute  was  renewed  with  redoubled  violence  as  to  the  admission 
of  the  two  towns  into  the  league,  and  after  wrangling  for  three 
days  the  deputies  separated  on  December  22  in  great  irritation. 
In  this  extremity  the  pious  pastor  Heinrich  Imgrund  of  Stans 


412  SWITZERLAND 

1478-1481 

hastened  to  "  Brother  Klaus  "  for  advice.  He  came  back  bathed 
in  perspiration,  fetched  the  deputies  from  their  various  inns,  and 
in  the  name  of  the  monk  of  Einsiedeln  prevailed  upon  them  to 
assemble  once  more.  He  then  brought  forward  the  proposals  of 
his  venerable  friend,  and  within  an  hour  a  reconciliation  was 
effected.  The  towns  yielded  and  relinquished  their  separate  league, 
and  the  rural  states  on  their  part  consented  to  the  admission  of 
Fribourg  and  Soleure  into  the  Perpetual  League,  although  under 
the  further  restriction  that  they  should  be  subordinate  to  the  eight 
states  in  war.  In  order  to  avoid  similar  disputes  in  future,  and 
to  strengthen  and  invigorate  the  league,  the  already  projected 
covenant  of  Stans  was  definitely  accepted.  What  the  towns  had 
wanted  to  obtain  by  their  separate  league  became  now  the  concern 
of  the  whole  Federal  League;  for  every  town  engaged  to  refrain 
from  instigating  the  subjects  of  the  others  to  rebellion  (as  had  been 
the  case  in  the  revolt  of  Entlebuch),  and  from  injuring  the  terri- 
tory of  the  others.  Dangerous  or  unusual  societies  and  assemblies, 
which  might  do  harm  to  anyone  (as,  for  instance,  the  assembly  of 
Art,  which  gave  rise  to  the  "mad  life"),  were  forbidden,  and 
the  states  pledged  themselves  to  mutual  support  against  such  attacks 
and  insurrections.  Finally,  that  both  old  and  young  might  the 
more  firmly  bear  the  leagues  in  mind,  every  live  years  the  Con- 
vention of  Sempach  and  this  Covenant  of  Stans  were  to  be  renewed 
and  confirmed  by  oath. 

This  concord  formed  an  important  advance  in  the  life  of  the 
league,  and  to  a  certain  extent  strengthened  its  power;  thereby 
legitimate  bounds  were  set  to  all  tumultuary  attempts,  and  all 
arbitrary  dealings,  to  the  freebooting  and  licentiousness,  so  abun- 
dantly manifest  in  the  Middle  Ages.  It  is  true  that  in  later  times 
these  provisions,  though  directed  against  any  actually  violent  breach 
of  the  peace,  were  abused,  in  that  the  governments,  by  their  support, 
suppressed  mere  popular  assemblies,  and  claimed  Federal  aid  to 
repudiate  the  just  demands  of  the  people.  This  strengthening  of 
the  central  power  corresponded  to  the  tendency  then  simultaneously 
manifesting  itself  in  Spain,  France,  Germany,  and  England  toward 
the  foundation  of  the  modern  state. 

But  the  internal  disquiets  of  the  Confederation  were  not  yet 
allayed  by  the  Covenant  of  Stans.  By  the  acquisition  of  subject- 
lands  on  the  part  of  individual  states,  and  by  the  increase  of  the 
number  of  towns  in  the  league,  the  Confederation  had  gradually 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  413 

1481-1483 

assumed  quite  an  altered  character.  There  was  no  longer,  as  at 
the  time  of  the  battles  of  Morgarten  and  Sempach,  one  people  of 
almost  equal  rights,  but  a  separation  was  already  introduced  between 
lords  and  subjects.  In  the  towns,  especially  in  Berne  and  Zurich, 
the  idea  of  a  united  executive  power,  exercised  from  one  center 
(as  already  in  use  in  great  monarchies),  was  gaining  ground;  a 
sense  of  sovereignty  was  beginning  to  make  itself  felt  among 
the  governments  of  the  towns.  A  tendency  arose  to  establish  an 
absolute  rule  of  the  towns  over  the  country.  In  addition  to  this 
an  effort  was  being  made  within  the  towns  themselves  to  strengthen 
the  power  of  the  burgomaster  and  wardens  ®  among  the  artisan 
class. 

This  new  idea  was  pursued  in  Berne  by  Peter  Kistler.  He 
had  risen  by  his  own  efforts  from  the  rank  of  a  butcher  to  that  of 
a  standard-bearer,  and  in  1470  was  elected  mayor.  Thereupon  the 
nobler  burgesses  who  possessed  manorial  estates  in  the  country 
over  which  they  exercised  a  despotic  authority  {Twingherrschaf- 
ten),  the  families  of  Erlach,  Diesbach,  and  Bubenberg  left  the  town 
in  a  body.  Kistler  endeavored  to  humiliate  them,  to  limit  their 
jurisdiction,  and  to  subject  them  to  sumptuary  laws.  But  the 
country  folk,  feeling  oppressed  by  the  town,  took  part  with  their 
manorial  lords,  and  a  revolution  was  only  averted  by  the  mediation 
of  the  Confederates.  The  nobles  acknowledged  the  sovereignty 
of  the  town  of  Berne,  but  were  released  from  the  sumptuary  laws 
in  1 47 1.  The  manorial  lords  returned  amid  the  rejoicings  of  the 
burghers. 

A  similar  tendency  shortly  afterward  found  place  in  Zurich 
under  Hans  Waldmann.  Born  at  Blickensdorf,  in  the  canton 
of  Zug,  settled  in  Zurich,  and  there  enfranchised,  Waldmann  early 
distinguished  himself  during  mercenary  and  other  military  expe- 
ditions in  the  sixth  and  seventh  decades  of  the  century.  He  rose 
rapidly  by  his  extraordinary  talents,  his  activity  and  untiring  en- 
ergy, by  his  fortune  and  family  alliances.  He  established  his  fame 
during  the  Burgundian  wars,  and  ranked  among  the  foremost 
as  a  leader  in  war  and  as  a  politician.  Through  the  influence  of 
the  guilds  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  council,  became  a  landlord, 
chief  warden,  and  finally  burgomaster  in  1483,  upon  the  removal 
of  the  aristocratic  Heinrich  Goldli.  Toward  the  aristocracy,  who 
despised  him,  he  bore  an  inveterate  hatred,  and  he  now  turned 
old  clauses  of  the  constitution  to  account  somewhat  unfairly,  in 
•  The  heads  or  masters  of  the  trade  guilds. 


414  SWITZERLAND 

1483-1487 

order  to  humble  the  Constafel,^^  and  to  establish  the  supremacy 
of  the  guilds.  He  reduced  the  number  of  aristocrats  in  the  council 
from  twelve  to  six;  he  offended  the  Goldli  family  to  the  utmost. 
At  the  same  time  he  kept  discipline  and  order  among  the  clergy  and 
did  much  toward  the  adornment  and  improvement  of  Zurich.  In 
the  management  of  the  state  he  endeavored  to  establish  greater 
uniformity  and  equality  in  place  of  the  glaring  inequalities  of 
mediaeval  times.  He  held  the  country  folk  in  strict  subordination, 
as  had  long  been  the  custom,  bound  them  remorselessly  by  statutes 
old  and  new  relating  to  manners,  clothing,  agriculture,  handicrafts, 
and  forestry,  and  thereby  aroused  much  bitter  feeling.  In  Federal 
matters  he  obtained  for  Zurich  an  almost  absolute  supremacy,  en- 
deavored to  suppress  foreign  service,  and  by  so  doing  exasperated 
Lucerne  and  the  rural  states,  and  came  into  violent  conflict  with 
the  leader  of  mercenaries,  Frischhans  Telling,  of  Lucerne.  Their 
antagonism  dated  from  an  expedition  to  Milan  in  1478. 

The  Sforzas,  who  succeeded  to  Milan  upon  the  extinction  of 
the  Visconti  family  in  1447,  concluded  a  capitulation  or  treaty  with 
the  Confederates  in  1467,  but  did  not  keep  the  promises  therein 
made,  such  as  the  renunciation  of  the  Val  Leventina  (the  Livinen), 
freedom  from  tolls,  etc.  Negotiations  having  failed  of  their  aim, 
Uri  prepared  for  war;  and  in  December,  1478,  under  the  conduct 
of  Hans  Waldmann,  10,000  to  14,000  Confederates  advanced  as 
far  as  Bellinzona  (Bellenz),  and  besieged  it.  But  owing  to  dis- 
sensions and  the  cold  of  the  winter,  the  Confederates  were  obliged 
to  retreat,  leaving  only  a  small  garrison  in  Giornico.  Thereupon 
the  Milanese  advanced,  10,000  strong,  but  were  opposed  by  the 
garrison,  aided  by  350  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Val  Leventina, 
under  the  leadership  of  Frischhans  Telling,  of  Lucerne.  By  stop- 
ping the  mountain  streams,  whose  waters  immediately  froze,  they 
had  secured  their  position;  and  as  the  enemy  advanced  they 
rolled  down  stones  and  rocks,  fell  upon  their  opponents,  and  put 
them  to  flight.  It  was  a  glorious  act  of  heroism,  and  Frischhans 
Teiling  was  thenceforth  honored  as  a  hero  of  war.  Telling  arro- 
gantly ridiculed  the  banner  of  Zurich  as  a  "  beggar's  wallet,"  and 
the  Zurich  folk  as  "perjured  wretches."     Later,  in  1487,  when 

*•  There  were  in  Zurich  two  great  electoral  bodies;  the  first,  or  aristocratic 
class,  was  styled  the  "  Constafel,"  and  consisted  of  knights,  nobles,  and  the 
more  well-to-do  burghers.  The  second  class  consisted  of  the  artisans  forming 
the  thirteen  guilds. 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  415 

1487-1489 

Waldman  defeated  an  expedition  into  the  Eschenthal,  an  attempt 
being  nevertheless  made  to  force  a  passage,  800  men  were  slain, 
he  abused  the  burgomaster  of  Zurich  as  a  "  villain,  a  murderer, 
and  a  traitor."  For  these  things  Teiling,  going  to  mass  at 
Zurich  in  the  autumn  of  1487,  was  arrested  and  mercilessly  put 
to  death.  A  cry  of  indignation  rang  through  the  heart  of  Switzer- 
land, and  the  animosity  against  Waldmann  reached  its  height,  as 
an  inexorable  advocate  of  the  supremacy  of  the  towns,  the  chief 
representative  of  the  system  of  pensions,  and  the  suppressor  of 
foreign  service. 

In  the  spring  of  1489  disturbances  broke  out  in  the  rural 
disticts  of  Zurich,  because  Waldmann  had  been  betrayed  into  setting 
proceedings  on  foot  against  the  large  and  dangerous  dogs  of  the 
peasants.  The  peasants  held  meetings  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake  of 
Zurich,  at  Meilen  and  Kiissnach,  and  in  March  advanced  upon  the 
town.  Having  allowed  themselves  to  be  appeased,  and  then  finding 
that  the  town  would  not  keep  the  treaty,  they  marched  out  in 
April  for  the  second  time.  Meanwhile  within  the  town  the  Goldli 
family  and  their  adherents  were  exasperating  and  inciting  the 
townsfolk  against  Waldmann,  and  the  council  hall  was  besieged  by 
a  tumultuous  mob.  Federal  deputies  hastened  to  intervene,  but, 
instead  of  allaying  the  tumult,  they  yielded  to  the  urgency  of  the 
people,  delivered  up  Waldmann  and  his  friends,  and  led  them  to 
the  Wellenberg.^^  In  a  tumultuous  assembly  of  the  burgesses  fresh 
councilors  were  elected,  and  Waldmann's  opponents  took  the  helm. 
General  accusations  against  Waldmann  were  spread  abroad,  and 
after  summary  proceedings  he  was  finally  condemned  to  death. 
The  hero  of  Morat  went  to  his  death  with  manly  courage  on  April 
6,  1489. 

The  new  council  slaked  its  thirst  for  revenge  by  a  succession 
of  further  condemnations  and  executions,  and  by  its  harshness  and 
cruelty  earned  the  name  of  the  "  Horny  Council."  By  the  inter- 
vention of  Federal  deputies  a  reconciliation  was  effected  between 
the  town  and  the  rural  districts.  Ancient  liberties  and  rights  were 
confirmed  to  the  various  domains  and  districts  by  charters  con- 
taining the  decrees  of  Waldmann,  by  which  also  a  number  of  inno- 
vations were  abolished,  and  freedom  of  trade,  commerce,  and 
manufacture  was  assured.  The  greatest  concessions  were  made  to 
the  dwellers  around  the  lake,  especially  the  right  of  making  their 
wants  and  wishes  known  to  the  government.  Lastly,  the  munici- 
i^The  state  prison  of  Zurich. 


416  SWITZERLAND 

1489-1490 

pal  constitution  was  legally  settled  for  the  time  to  come,  and,  in 
so  far  as  concerned  the  position  of  the  aristocracy  and  wardens  in 
the  council,  essentially  in  accordance  with  Waldmann's  ideas. 

The  fall  of  Waldmann  produced  a  general  excitement  through- 
out the  Confederation  and  occasioned  similar  agitations  in  several 
places  against  despotism  and  against  the  drawing  of  pensions.  A 
like  storm  broke  out  against  the  Government  of  Lucerne,  and  the 
council  was  forced  to  bind  itself  to  levy  no  taxes,  form  no  alliances, 
and  commence  no  war  without  the  consent  of  the  community.  In 
1489  the  town  of  St.  Gall,  the  League  of  God's  House,  and  the 
people  of  Appenzell  revolted  against  the  harsh  Abbot  Ulrich  Rosch, 
reputed  a  friend  of  Waldmann,  and  destroyed  the  buildings  of  a 
new  monastery  commenced  by  the  abbot  at  Rorschach.  Burgo- 
master Farnbiihler  had  already  planned  a  great  Confederation  in 
the  east,  with  the  addition  of  Thurgau,  to  be  under  the  direction 
of  the  town  of  St.  Gall.  With  the  help  of  the  Federal  protection, 
however,  the  abbot  quelled  the  insurrection ;  Farnbiihler  was  forced 
to  fly,  and  the  insurgents  were  heavily  fined  (1490).  Meanwhile 
Federal  affairs  were  likewise  in  a  state  of  fermentation.  At  the 
Diet  of  Lucerne  a  prohibition  of  pensions  and  service-money  was 
mooted,  "  it  being  seen  how  much  harm  Waldmann  had  caused  by 
pensions,"  and  Schwyz  suggested  the  idea  of  assembling  the  com- 
munities in  all  parts,  even  in  the  town  cantons,  in  order  to  discuss 
these  matters.  But  the  towns,  with  Berne  at  their  head,  opposed 
this,  and  through  their  influence  it  was  finally  decided  to  abide 
by  the  Covenant  of  Stans,  as  published  in  148 1.  The  abolition  of 
such  pressing  grievances  as  foreign  service,  the  system  of  pensions, 
and  the  laxity  of  the  league  was  deferred. 

After  Switzerland  had  by  her  own  strength  overthrown  one 
of  the  powers  of  Europe  in  the  Burgundian  wars,  the  bonds  unit- 
ing her  to  the  German  empire  were  gradually  slackened.  Hitherto 
no  Swiss  had  dreamed  of  such  a  thing  as  separation  from  the 
empire ;  they  all  unreservedly  considered  themselves  members  of  the 
empire,  just  as  the  Bavarians,  Franks,  or  Saxons.  Their  privileges 
were  ratified  by  the  emperor;  they  took  part  in  imperial  diets  and 
imperial  wars,  and  even  in  the  Burgundian  war  they  had  pro- 
fessed to  be  obliged  to  fight,  and  to  wish  to  do  so,  as  members  of 
the  empire.  But  these  relations  had  gradually  become  mere  for- 
malities. As  a  matter  of  fact,  Switzerland  had  long  been  alienated 
from  the  empire,  because  she  no  longer  needed  its  protection.    The 


£^  AT     HEIGHT    OF     POWER  417 

1490-1496 

feeling  of  connection  was  the  more  readily  lost  that  the  German 
empire  was  wanting  in  any  firm  union  which  could  hold  the  differ- 
ent parts  together.  For  more  than  two  centuries  past  a  total  disso- 
lution had  been  gradually  approaching.  There  was  no  generally 
recognized  imperial  authority;  the  princes  and  towns  forming  the 
individual  members  were  almost  independent.  Thus  the  Swiss, 
too,  were  able  to  strike  out  an  independent  course;  often  enough 
in  later  times  they  had  shirked  their  duties  toward  the  empire,  and 
gone  unpunished. 

Moreover,  powers  had  gained  the  ascendent  in  Germany,  which 
were  by  their  very  nature  incompatible  with  Switzerland.  At 
one  time  the  haughty  nobles  of  Suabia  caused  continual  friction; 
the  biting  scorn  which  they  poured  forth  upon  the  peasants  and 
cowherds  across  the  Rhine  not  only  gave  rise  to  reciprocal  mock- 
ings,  but  even  caused  the  Confederates  to  take  to  arms.  Then  from 
the  year  1438  the  Austrian  house  of  Hapsburg  had  filled  the 
German  throne,  and  that  house  could  never  forget  that  the  Confed- 
eration had  become  great  at  her  expense.  The  long  reign  of 
Frederick  III.  (1440-1493)  specially  alienated  Switzerland  from 
the  empire ;  for  it  was  he  who,  in  the  first  Zurich  War,  under  pre- 
text of  imperial  interests,  had  endeavored  to  destroy  the  Federal 
League.  The  fresh  demands  made  by  Maximilian,  Frederick's 
son,  in  the  name  of  the  empire,  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  The 
first  prince  of  his  age  to  take  any  real  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
empire,  he  wanted  to  subject  Switzerland,  as  a  regular  member  of 
the  empire,  to  the  newly  established  regulations  for  the  public 
peace,  to  the  Imperial  Chamber  and  to  imperial  taxes  (1496); 
and  St.  Gall,  an  allied  state  of  the  Confederates,  refusing  to  sub- 
mit to  a  sentence  of  the  Imperial  Chamber,  was  outlawed.  The 
Confederates  did  not  scruple  to  repudiate  such  demands.  They 
had  no  need  of  the  special  precautions  of  Germany  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  public  peace,  for  they  were  sufficiently  defended  by  their 
leagues.  Moreover,  at  the  new  Imperial  Diet  the  towns  and 
burghers  were  but  feebly  represented,  the  peasants  not  at  all;  and 
Switzerland,  like  North  America  nearly  three  hundred  years  later, 
could  not  recognize  any  obligations  to  a  parliamentary  body  from 
which  they  were,  so  to  speak,  excluded.  "  The  way  is  open  to 
find  a  master  for  you,  and  I  will  accomplish  it  by  the  pen  in  my 
hand,"  cried  the  Imperial  Chancellor.  But  a  Confederate  replied: 
"  Others  formerly  failed  in  what  you  now  threaten,  though  they 


418  SWITZERLAND 

1496-1497 

attempted  it  with  halberds,  which  are  more  to  be  feared  than 
goose-quills !  "  With  yet  greater  indignation  the  Confederates  re- 
jected the  suggestion  that  they  should  join  the  Suabian  League, 
then  under  the  influence  of  Austria  and  the  nobility  of  southern 
Germany.  The  nobility  now  desired  nothing  more  earnestly  than 
the  overthrow  of  Switzerland;  north  of  the  Rhine  one  vied  with 
another  in  scornful  ridicule  and  base  accusations  against  the  Swiss, 
and  protracted,  fruitless  trials  and  processes  drove  them  from  ex- 
asperation to  the  thirst  for  war. 

A  trivial  cause  finally  led  to  the  outbreak  of  war.  Maximilian's 
advisers,  who  were  urgent  for  war,  caused  the  Miinsterthal  (the 
jurisdiction  of  which  was  shared  by  Austria  and  the  Bishop  of 
Coire)  to  be  seized  in  the  king's  absence,  because  the  Gray  League 
and  the  League  of  God's  House  had  joined  the  Confederates  in 
opposition  to  Austria;  even  the  Suabian  League  was  applied  to 
for  help.  The  Grisons  sought  and  obtained  the  help  of  the  Confed- 
erates in  January,  1490,  and  soon  the  armed  forces  of  both  parties 
confronted  one  another  along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  from  Basle 
to  Maienfeld.  The  Suabian  troops  acquired  Maienfeld  by  treach- 
ery and  occupied  Luziensteig;  but  on  February  9,  1499,  the  Con- 
federates forded  the  Rhine  at  Triesen  and  repulsed  the  enemy. 
Meanwhile  the  Royalists  had  assembled  at  Bregenz.  The  Confed- 
erates attacked  them  at  Hard  or  Fussach,  and  rushing  upon  the 
enemy,  as  at  Grandson,  with  desperate  courage  under  a  heavy  fire, 
they  won  a  signal  victory. 

One  month  later,  on  March  22,  Suabians  from  Sundgau  and 
the  Black  Forest,  attacking  Soleure  and  retiring  hastily,  were  to- 
tally defeated  at  Bruderholz  on  the  rising  ground  south  of  Basle. 
Once  more  the  Suabian  League  took  courage;  its  troops  took  up 
their  position  at  Constance,  and  thence  attacked  Ermatingen  in 
Thurgau.  The  Suabians  were,  however,  again  surprised  by  the 
Confederates,  and  defeated  on  April  11  at  Schwaderloo,  south  of 
Constance.  The  Swiss  arms  were  shortly  afterward  victorious  in 
the  Oberland.  Austrians  from  the  Tyrol  and  Wallgau  assembled 
at  Frastenz  (east  of  Feldkirch)  behind  an  intrenchment.  The 
Confederates  determined  to  make  a  decisive  attack  upon  them, 
and  on  April  20,  by  a  skillfully  planned  maneuver,  executed  by 
Heinrich  Wolleb  of  Uri,  they  remained  masters  of  the  field  after  a 
hot  struggle.  The  brave  Wolleb  himself  was  the  first  victim,  fall- 
ing when  in  the  act  of  giving  the  signal  for  advance  against  the 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  419 

1499-1500 

guns  of  the  enemy,  dealing  out  death  and  destruction.  Three 
thousand  of  the  enemy  were  slain. 

Meanwhile  Maximilian  had  returned  and  resolved  to  take  the 
war  in  hand  in  good  earnest.  But  there  appeared  small  inclination 
for  it  in  the  empire,  the  war  being  regarded  merely  as  an  Austrian 
feud.  Maximilian  assembled  his  troops  on  the  frontier  between 
the  Tyrol  and  the  Grisons,  and  specially  fortified  the  outlet  of  the 
Miinsterthal  into  the  Tyrol,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  lower  Ram- 
bach.  At  the  gorge  of  the  latter  stream  (the  "  Calven")  a  battle 
took  place.  Only  6300  Grisons  rushed  upon  15,000  Imperialists, 
intrenched  behind  fortifications.  Glorious  deeds  of  heroism  were 
done.  Benedict  Fontana,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  League  of  God's 
House,  hastening  at  the  head  of  his  men  to  the  attack  on  the  in- 
trenchment,  was  wounded  by  a  bullet,  but  still  shouted  words  of 
encouragement  to  his  followers.  The  Grisons  pressed  forward 
from  all  sides,  and  the  Imperialists  were  forced  to  give  way 
on  March  22. 

While  the  emperor  attempted  another  attack  from  Constance, 
Austrian  troops  from  Sundgau  advanced  toward  Soleure,  but  be- 
ing surprised  while  feasting  and  bathing  at  Dorneck  (Dornach), 
they  were  put  to  the  rout.  Both  sides  were  now  weary  of  the 
war,  for  in  the  course  of  eight  months  20,000  soldiers  had  been 
slain,  nearly  2000  places  burned,  and  the  land  devastated  far  and 
wide;  and  the  people  were  terribly  oppressed  by  want  of  money, 
scarcity,  and  famine.  All  therefore  longed  for  peace,  which  was 
concluded  on  September  22,  1499,  at  Basle.  The  emperor  sus- 
pended all  proceedings  and  decrees  of  the  Imperial  Chamber  against 
the  Swiss;  he  ceded  to  the  Confederates  the  rural  jurisdiction  of 
Thurgau,  and  by  that  means  foreign  jurisdiction  was  entirely  ban- 
ished from  their  territory.  The  Ten  Jurisdictions  (Pratigau, 
Schanfigg,  and  Davos)  were  obliged  to  do  homage  to  the  emperor 
as  their  sovereign,  but  remained  in  alliance  with  the  Confederates, 
as  did  the  other  leagues  of  the  Grisons.  Nothing  was  indeed 
definitely  settled  as  to  the  general  position  of  Switzerland  with  re- 
gard to  the  German  empire ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  imperial  regu- 
lations had  no  real  force  among  the  Swiss,  and  fresh  orders  being 
issued  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  later,  in  1648,  led  to  the  formal 
separation  of  Switzerland  from  the  German  empire  forever.  After 
the  Suabian  War,  Basle  and  Schaffhausen,  which  had  been  most 
exposed  to  danger  during  the  war,  joined  the  Perpetual  League 


420  SWITZERLAND 

1501-1509 

of  the  Confederates,  on  June  8  and  August  lo,  1501,  and  so  com- 
pleted the  Federal  territory  toward  the  north. 

The  French  kings  who  succeeded  Louis  XL  sought,  as  that 
monarch  had  done,  to  avail  themselves  of  the  warlike  powers  of 
the  Swiss.  In  1484  Charles  VIII.  renewed  his  father's  alliance, 
and  ten  years  later  conquered  Naples  chiefly  by  Swiss  mercenaries. 
His  successor,  Louis  XII.,  in  1499  concluded  a  treaty  for  ten 
years,  and  thought  by  the  help  of  the  Confederates  to  conquer 
Milan  (to  which  he  laid  just  claim  in  right  of  his  grandmother), 
and  to  drive  out  the  Sforzas.  In  that  same  year,  at  the  head  of 
Swiss  mercenaries,  he  expelled  Louis  Sforza,  surnamed  the  Moor. 
But  the  latter  had  made  an  alliance  with  certain  Federal  States, 
and  in  February,  1500,  succeeded  in  recovering  Milan.  Then  ar- 
rived an  army  of  24,000  French.  Louis  the  Moor  held  Novara, 
but  suffered  greatly  from  want.  His  Swiss  followers  shrank  from 
fighting  against  their  brother  Confederates,  and  capitulated  behind 
his  back.  They  promised,  however,  to  take  him  with  them  on 
their  retreat.  But  by  the  treachery  of  a  Swiss  soldier  in  the  French 
army  Louis  the  Moor  was  delivered  up  to  the  French,  and  ended 
his  life  ten  years  later  in  a  French  prison.  In  this  way  Milan 
once  more  became  French.  Louis  XII.  renewed  the  capitulation 
of  Milan,  and  engaged  to  restore  Bellinzona,  which  he  had  con- 
quered, to  the  Forest  States.  But  the  Confederates  were  at  length 
obliged  to  wrest  it  from  him  in  1503  by  a  special  campaign. 

Now,  however,  the  powerful  position  which  France  had  ac- 
quired in  Italy  by  the  possession  of  Milan  threatened  the  balance 
of  power  among  the  nations  of  Europe,  and  offended  the  patriotic 
pride  of  the  Italians.  Hence  fresh  wars  broke  out,  in  which  almost 
all  the  noted  rulers  of  that  time  were  concerned  in  which  the 
Confederates  played  a  specially  important  part.  Just  as  in  the 
Burgundian  wars  they  had  been  led  by  France  and  the  emperor  to 
take  the  field  against  Burgundy,  so  in  the  Italian  struggle  they 
were  urged  by  the  other'  interested  powers  against  France.  At 
the  same  time,  however,  the  Confederates  had  once  more  their  own 
interests  to  maintain,  so  that  they  were  not  merely  the  puppets  of 
the  powers.  It  was  to  their  interest  to  secure  their  possession  of 
the  territory  of  Ticino  (Tessin),  and  to  show  France  that  they 
would  not  be  used  as  a  mere  tool.  Louis  XII.,  following  the  faith- 
less and  cunning  policy  of  Louis  XL,  did  not  keep  his  promises, 
and  offended  the  Confederates  by  a  haughty  and  despotic  course 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  421 

1510-1513 

of  action.  The  alliance  with  France  coming  to  an  end  in  1510, 
the  Swiss  thought  it  well  to  show  Louis  that  "  money  is  only  useful 
to  him  who  owns  iron  too,"  and  they  lent  their  ear  to  the  enemies 
of  France,  and  particularly  to  Pope  Julius  IL,  whose  highest  aim 
was  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  Italy. 

By  order  of  the  Pope,  Matthew  Schinner,  Bishop  of  Sion,  an 
able,  intelligent  and  eloquent  man,  addressed  himself  to  the  Con- 
federates, and  induced  them  in  15 10  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the 
papal  throne  for  five  years,  by  which  they  engaged  to  furnish  troops 
to  the  papacy,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others.  Having  further  allied 
himself  with  Spain,  the  emperor,  Venice  and  England  (the  "  Holy 
League"),  Julius  opened  the  war  against  France. 

Two  Alpine  expeditions  of  the  Confederates  failed — the  cam- 
paign of  Chiasso  in  15 10,  and  the  "  cold  winter  campaign  "  of  1511. 
On  April  11,  15 12,  the  French  defeated  the  army  of  the  league 
at  Ravenna.  Julius  II.  now  rested  his  hopes  solely  upon  the  Swiss, 
and  was  not  disappointed.  A  Swiss  army  of  18,000  men  marched 
across  the  Alps,  made  a  successful  expedition  through  Lombardy  in 
concert  with  the  Venetians,  and  conquered  Pavia  and  the  whole 
duchy  of  Milan.  This  expedition,  which  took  place  in  July,  15 12, 
and  was  called  the  "  great  expedition  of  Pavia,"  met  with  brilliant 
success.  For  themselves  the  Confederates  obtained  Domo  d'Ossola, 
the  territory  of  the  present  canton  of  Ticino,  Locarno,  Lugano, 
Mendrisio,  and  Maiental,  the  Orison  Leagues  acquiring  the  Val- 
telline,  Chiavenna,  and  Bormio.  The  whole  range  from  Monte 
Rosa  to  the  Wormser  Joch  was  now  brought  into  permanent  con- 
nection with  the  Confederation.  In  Italy,  however,  the  Confeder- 
ates were  greeted  with  rejoicings  as  deliverers  from  the  yoke  of 
France,  and  they  were  highly  honored  and  richly  rewarded  by  the 
Pope.  They  even  decided  the  important  question  as  to  the  posses- 
sion of  Milan;  and  Schmid,  burgomaster  of  Zurich,  delivered  the 
key  of  the  city  to  Maximilian  Sforza,  the  son  of  the  unfortunate 
Louis  the  Moor.  They  at  the  same  time  concluded  a  treaty  with 
Sforza,  and  engaged  to  protect  Milan.  Louis  XH.  next  attempting 
to  recover  Milan  by  force  of  arms,  the  Confederates  were  again 
obliged  to  take  the  field.  On  June  4,  15 13,  the  French  bombarded 
Novara,  which  was  garrisoned  by  Swiss  troops  under  Sforza.  The 
French  hoped  events  would  turn  out  as  twelve  years  previously, 
but  the  garrison  maintained  a  firm  resistance  until  the  main  army 
of  the  Confederates  came  up.    On  June  6  a  sanguinary  battle  took 


^ft»  SWITZERLAND 

1513-1516 

place  outside  the  gates  of  the  town,  in  which  the  Confederates, 
inspired  by  the  heroic  courage  of  their  forefathers,  defied  the 
artillery  and  cavalry  of  the  enemy,  killed  8000  Frenchmen,  and  put 
the  rest  to  flight.    This  was  a  red-letter  day  for  the  Confederation. 

The  Confederates  had  about  this  time  undertaken  an  invasion 
of  Burgundy,  known  as  the  "  Campaign  of  Dijon,"  in  concert 
with  an  imperial  army,  but  allowed  themselves  to  be  put  oflf  with 
idle  promises.  Milan  fell  for  the  second  time  into  the  hands  of 
the  Swiss,  and  the  French  were  by  them  a  second  time  driven  out 
of  Italy.  The  Swiss,  with  haughty  self-confidence,  compared  them- 
selves already  to  the  Romans;  and  one  of  the  cleverest  Italians 
of  that  day,  Machiavelli  the  historian,  prophesied  that  they  would 
become  the  rulers  of  the  whole  of  Italy.  But  this  was  not  to  be. 
Francis  I.,  the  valiant  successor  of  Louis  XII.,  appeared  upon  the 
scene  with  a  fresh  and  powerful  army,  and  the  Swiss  encountered 
him  at  Marignano.  In  spite  of  the  warnings  of  the  majority  of 
their  leaders,  one  division  imprudently  and  impetuously  commenced 
the  attack  on  the  evening  of  September  13,  15 15,  and  fought  with 
lion-like  courage  and  partial  success  till  night  put  an  end  to  the 
slaughter.  On  the  following  day  the  struggle  was  renewed.  Once 
more  the  Confederates  precipitated  themselves  upon  an  army  of 
double  their  number,  but  they  were  terribly  cut  to  pieces  by  the  ar- 
tillery and  cavalry  of  the  enemy,  and  were  moreover  menaced  in 
the  rear  by  a  Venetian  army.  That  they  might  not  undergo  the 
fate  of  St.  Jakob,  they  took  the  wounded  on  their  shoulders,  the 
artillery  in  their  midst,  and  withdrew  toward  Milan  in  perfect  order, 
"  bruised  rather  than  defeated."  Twelve  thousand  corpses — the 
majority  of  them  those  of  Confederates — covered  the  field  of  battle. 

This — the  first  defeat  that  the  Confederates  met  with — which 
laid  the  foundations  of  the  reputation  of  Francis  I.  and  of  the 
supremacy  of  France,  gave  a  new  direction  to  the  course  of  Swiss 
affairs.  Among  the  Confederates  it  began  to  be  generally  recog- 
nized that  the  position  of  power  to  which  they  had  so  rapidly 
and  unexpectedly  attained  could  not  long  be  tenable,  nor  the  many 
evils  wrought  by  endless  wars  be  endured;  and  consequently,  on 
November  29,  15 16,  a  perpetual  peace  was  concluded  between 
Switzerland  and  France,  which  united  those  two  powers  more  closely 
than  ever.  Hostilities  were  to  cease  forever  on  both  sides,  full 
freedom  of  trade  and  peaceful  relations  to  connect  the  two  nations, 
and  neither  party  should  support  the  enemies  of  the  other. 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  423 

1400-1516 

Thenceforth  the  independent  part  played  by  Switzerland  in 
European  politics  was  at  an  end,  and  she  maintained  a  neutral 
position  in  European  disputes.  The  only  lasting  advantage  gained 
was  the  conquest  of  the  territories  of  Ticino,  the  Valtelline,  and 
Cleves  (Cldven),  the  possession  of  which  was  guaranteed  by  France 
to  the  Confederates  in  the  perpetual  peace.  The  two  last-named 
districts  fell  to  the  Orisons,  the  former  became  the  common  property 
of  the  Confederates,  and  from  1803  onward  formed  the  present 
canton  of  Ticino ;  and  thus  the  Federal  territory  received  its  south- 
ern boundary. 

The  fifteenth  century,  that  time  of  glorious  wars  abroad  and 
the  dawn  of  intellectual  progress  at  home,  also  brought  important 
political  changes;  and  the  lax  league  developed  gradually  into 
a  firm  and  well-ordered  state. 

In  the  first  instance,  as  regarded  the  mutual  relations  of  the 
states,  the  Forest  States  in  the  fourteenth  century  had  formed 
as  it  were  the  only  bond  of  union  of  the  league.  But  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  states  not  hitherto  allied  concluded  perpetual  leagues  among 
themselves,  as  for  instance  Berne  and  Lucerne  in  1421,  Zurich  and 
Berne  in  1423.  And  the  five  new  states  which  joined  later,  Fri- 
bourg  (1481),  Soleure  (1481),  Basle  (1501),  Schaffhausen 
(1501),  and  Appenzell  (1513),  entered  into  agreements  not  only 
with  the  Forest  States,  but  also  with  all  the  eight.  At  the  same 
time  they  were  in  many  ways  restricted  and  slighted  in  comparison 
to  the  older  states.  At  the  accession  of  Fribourg  and  Soleure  the 
eight  states  restricted  the  circle  of  Federal  aid ;  the  two  new  states 
might  enter  into  no  foreign  alliance  without  the  consent  of  the  rest, 
and  were  to  submit  themselves  to  the  majority  of  the  eight  states 
in  cases  of  peace  and  war.  The  latter  stipulation  was  also  made 
with  Basle,  Schafifhausen,  and  Appenzell.  These  three  states  were, 
moreover,  obliged  to  promise  to  remain  neutral  during  any  dis- 
putes among  the  others. 

Together  with  these  thirteen  fully  qualified  members  of  the 
Confederation,  there  were  also  some  "allied"  (or  "friendly") 
states  {Zugewandte  Orte),  that  is,  such  as  were  mostly  only  in 
alliance  with  individual  members  of  the  Confederation,  and  either 
took  no  part  in  the  transactions  of  the  Diet,  or  had  an  inferior 
representation  (only  one  instead  of  two  delegates),  and  moreover 
had  their  places  apart.  Such  were  the  Abbot  of  St.  Gall,  who  in 
145 1   had  become  allied  to  the  four  states  of  Zurich,  Lucerne, 


424.  SWITZERLAND 

1400-1516 

Schywz,  and  Glarus;  the  town  of  St.  Gall;  Bienne,  allied  only 
with  Berne,  Soleure,  and  Fribourg ;  the  Orisons,  Valais,  the  counts 
of  Neuchatel,  allied  in  1406  with  the  same  states  as  Bienne;  Miil- 
hausen  (1515)  and  Rotwil  (1519),  allied  with  all  the  thir- 
teen states.  All  the  above-named  held  quite  different  positions. 
All  were,  however,  shut  out  from  any  share  in  the  common 
domains. 

The  Confederation  of  the  fifteenth  century  differs  from  that 
of  the  fourteenth  century  by  the  acquisition  of  domain  lands. 
This  also  distinguished  the  Swiss  League  from  other  leagues  in 
the  empire  which  were  like  it  in  origin,  and  it  was  this  which  spe- 
cially contributed  to  convert  the  Confederation  into  a  compact 
state.  At  that  time  the  liberal  principle,  that  acquired  territories 
should  be  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  other  states,  was  quite 
unknown ;  no  one  ever  thought  of  such  a  thing.  The  Confederates, 
therefore,  thought  nothing  of  gaining  as  many  subject  lands  as 
they  could,  and  thus  making  their  own  position  more  assured.  So 
in  141 5  they  had  acquired  the  domains  of  Aargau,  Baden,  and 
the  Free  Bailiwicks,  in  1460  Thurgau,  1483  Sargans,  1490  Rheintal, 
and  in  15 12  the  territories  of  Ticino,  viz.,  Lugano,  Locarno,  Men- 
drisio,  and  Maggiatal.  All,  or  a  large  majority,  of  the  Federal 
states  took  part  in  the  government  of  these  territories.  Every  one 
of  the  participating  states  in  turn  sent  a  bailiff  to  the  various  sub- 
ject lands  to  maintain  the  sovereign  authority.  The  latter,  how- 
ever, did  not  extend  very  far;  in  some  domains,  as  in  Thurgau 
and  Rheintal,  the  Confederates  had  only  the  execution  of  the  higher 
jurisdiction  (the  criminal  court),  the  control  of  the  communal 
administration  and  commercial  affairs;  while  the  lower  jurisdic- 
tion was  vested  in  the  nobility,  bishops,  and  so  on ;  or  they  granted 
no  small  liberties  (a  council  of  their  own  election,  and  their  own 
jurisdiction)  to  various  towns,  such  as  Baden,  Bremgarten,  Mel- 
lingen,  Frauenfeld,  Diessenhofen,  and  Pugano,  to  engage  them  in 
their  interests.  The  bailiffs  collected  the  revenue  from  taxes,  tolls, 
feudal  rents,  and  fines,  in  time  of  war  took  the  lead  of  the  men  fit 
for  service,  and  executed  justice  in  the  case  of  crimes  worthy  of 
death,  with  a  court  of  justice  appointed  by  the  Confederation. 
The  bailiffs  were  obliged  to  give  account  to  the  Diet  every  year 
for  revenue  received,  and  any  surplus  over  the  costs  of  adminis- 
tration of  the  district  was  divided  among  the  participating  states; 
in  doubtful  cases  the  bailiffs  were  referred  to  the  Diet. 


!^T    HEIGHT    OF    POWER  425 

1400-1516 

The  great  development  which  had  taken  place  in  the  political 
life  of  the  Confederates,  partly  through  their  common  territories, 
and  partly  by  their  taking  part  in  the  contests  of  Europe,  may  be 
seen  by  the  increased  activity  and  authority  of  the  Diet  This 
was  still,  as  formerly,  merely  a  meeting  of  delegates  or  "mes- 
sengers "  (Boten)  from  the  governments  of  the  states,  who  pos- 
sessed no  actual  power  of  passing  legal  measures.  On  the  contrary, 
the  delegates,  convened  by  the  capital  for  the  time  being  (from 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  Zurich  was  usually  the  capital), 
had  to  get  their  instructions  as  to  their  votes  from  their  home 
governments.  After  every  session  the  votes  were  given  to  the 
deputies  in  writing  on  their  departure,  ^^  that  they  might  lay  them 
before  their  governments  or  "  take  them  home."  The  decision 
was  then  made  by  the  majority  of  the  states,  not  of  the  delegates. 
In  other  ways,  too,  the  assembly  was  not  formally  constituted.  It 
was  not  bound  to  any  particular  time  or  place;  an  assembly  was 
held  regularly  at  least  once  a  year  at  Baden,  to  which  the  yearly 
accounts  of  the  bailiffs  of  common  territories  were  brought.  But 
besides  this  many  extraordinary  sessions  were  held  at  divers  places, 
Zurich,  Soleure,  Lucerne,  and  Schwyz,  and  the  sphere  of  business 
of  the  Diet  gradually  became  almost  as  extensive  as  that  of  an 
established  Federal  government. 

Its  appointments  and  arrangements  related  in  the  first  instance 
to  foreign  affairs;  it  lay  in  its  power  to  send  embassies  and  dis- 
patches to  the  Pope  and  the  emperor,  to  princes  and  cities,  to  con- 
clude treaties,  as  well  as  to  appoint  frontier  forces  and  defenses 
in  time  of  danger.  The  debates  of  the  Diet  next  dealt  with  matters 
relating  to  trade  and  to  public  morals  and  public  health  in  the 
widest  sense ;  orders  were  issued  against  vagrants,  beggars,  thieves, 
and  tinkers ;  and  also  about  the  isolation  of  persons  suffering  from 
infectious  diseases,  and  the  stoppage  of  traffic  during  prevalent 
epidemics;  prohibitions  were  issued  against  swearing  and  indecent 
clothing;  improvements  and  repairs  of  the  main  roads  throughout 
the  territory  of  the  Confederation  were  often  ordered;  and  the 
consent  of  the  Diet  was  necessary  for  the  introduction  of  new  tolls, 
or  the  raising  of  old  ones.  By  it  arrangements  were  frequently 
made  as  to  the  coinage.  Even  church  matters  were  dealt  with 
as  common  Federal  affairs.     Finally,  the  Diet  also  interposed  in 

*2 These  writings  were  called  " Abschiede"  and  were    of   the    imture   of 
reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Diet 


426  SWITZERLAND 

1400-1516 

disputes  between  different  states  or  between  individuals.*^  Thus 
the  Diet  was  an  assembly  in  which  prominent  men  from  the  various 
states  gained  knowledge  and  experience  in  affairs  of  state;  and 
the  very  fact  that  it  was  incumbent  upon  them  to  care  for  the  do- 
mains common  to  all  exercised  a  beneficial  influence  upon  many 
branches  of  the  administration  which  might  otherwise  have  been 
neglected. 

It  is  true  that  the  decisions  of  the  Diet  were  often  not  carried 
out  in  all  the  states ;  they  had  mostly  to  be  repeated  again  and  again, 
being  rather  of  the  nature  of  suggestions  or  friendly  advice  to  the 
various  states,  and  were  only  binding  upon  those  which  agreed 
to  them.  In  15 15  it  was  first  enacted  that  in  matters  concerning 
the  honor  and  well-being  of  the  Confederation  the  minority  should 
yield  to  the  majority;  but  this  resolution  fared  like  many  others 
which  existed  only  on  paper.  In  contrast,  however,  to  the  succeed- 
ing centuries,  with  all  their  internal  dissensions  and  frequent  fric- 
tion between  the  towns  and  the  rural  states,  the  necessity  of  arriving 
at  a  common  resolution  and  carrying  out  united  measures  always 
prevailed.  The  events  of  war  naturally  produced  a  reaction  in  the 
conditions  of  the  Confederation  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

The  heroic  days  of  Grandson,  Morat,  and  Novara  made  the 
name  of  the  Confederates  famous.  Their  military  prowess  had 
stood  the  test  gloriously,  and  Was  acknowledged  even  by  their 
enemies.  While  at  that  time  cavalry  usually  played  the  chief  part 
in  war,  with  the  Swiss  the  infantry  formed  the  main  part.  They 
drew  up  in  closely  compact  lines  in  perfect  order,  the  foremost 
provided  with  long  pikes — the  chief  weapon  of  the  Confederates 
— and  standing  as  firm  as  a  wall.  The  various  divisions  were  so 
arranged  as  not  to  get  in  one  another's  way  during  maneuvers,  and 
that  the  flight  of  any  one  portion  might  not  cause  that  of  the  rest, 
as  had  been  the  case  at  Morat  on  the  Burgundian  side.  The  enemy 
always  admired  in  the  Swiss  the  excellent  order,  in  which  they 
were  themselves  wanting,  and  the  heroic  courage  of  their  men, 
which  was  never  stained  by  cowardice.  Cavalry  could  do  nothing 
against  the  impenetrable  forest  of  bristling  pikes  of  their  close 
lines;  and  when  the  van  had  by  this  means  broken  the  enemy's 
order  of  battle,  the  halberds,  clubs,  battle-axes,  and  heavy  swords 
of  the  rear  proved  murderous  weapons.  Artillery  alone  could  be 
of  any  use  against  this  order:  but  firing  was  very  slow  work  in 
those  days,  and  the  Confederates  having  escaped  the  effects  of  the 
wThis  was  c^led  Federal  Intervention  or  Mediation. 


AT     HEIGHT     OF     POWER  427 

1400-1516 

first  fire  by  stooping  low,  dashed  immediately  upon  the  batteries 
and  took  them  from  the  enemy.  Thus,  says  a  contemporary,  they 
revived  the  fame  of  the  bravery  of  foot-soldiers,  and  became  the 
first  warriors  of  the  world. 

This  military  superiority  gave  the  Confederation  great  political 
importance  abroad.  Milan,  Savoy,  Austria,  France,  the  Popes,  and 
even  the  remote  Matthew  Corvin  of  Hungary,  sought  their  favor. 
The  chief  views  of  foreign  powers  in  so  doing  was  to  obtain  Swiss 
mercenary  troops;  and  those  who  gained  their  help  usually  played 
a  winning  game  in  the  struggle.  Hence,  after  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  the  fate  of  European  wars  was  decided  by  the 
Swiss,  and  their  sword  often  turned  the  scale  of  European  policy. 
They  themselves,  indeed,  had  no  extensive  or  high  aim  in  view  by 
these  foreign  connections  and  relations ;  they  aimed  only  at  easily- 
earned  material  advantages,  either  the  drawing  of  annuities  or  pen- 
sions for  the  benefit  of  the  community  in  general,  or  advantages  of 
trade  and  commerce,  such  as  freedom  of  customs  and  reduction 
of  duties;  from  France  they  desired  free  entry  into  the  University 
of  Paris,  as  also  in  their  treaties  with  Milan  and  the  Pope. 

By  their  military  and  political  position  and  their  relations  with 
the  outer  world,  the  inner  life  of  Switzerland  was  benefited  in  many 
ways.  We  owe  a  large  number  of  beautiful  war-songs  to  the  spirit 
of  patriotism  aroused  to  consciousness  among  the  Swiss  by  their 
brilliant  victories.  Enthusiasm  for  the  freedom  and  fame  of  the 
fatherland  inspired  many  a  poet  among  peasants  and  handicrafts- 
men, as  Hans  Auer,  of  Lucerne,  about  1430,  Hans  Viol,  and  af- 
terward Veit  Weber  and  Matthias  Zoller,  both  about  the  time  of 
the  Burgundian  wars.  These  had  mostly  earned  their  fame  by  the 
sword;  after  dangers  undergone  they  turned  homeward,  and  ex- 
tolled the  heroic  days  in  sweet  songs,  which  speedily  went  the  round 
among  the  people,  and  were  sung  in  quiet  cottages  as  well  as  on 
public  holidays.  Arising  entirely  from  the  sphere  of  thought  of 
the  people,  these  poems  gave  a  powerful  popular  impulse  to  German 
literature. 

Side  by  side  with  the  song  writers  we  find  historians,  who, 
impelled  alike  by  their  own  share  in  the  struggles  and  by  the  tri- 
umphant fame  of  their  nation,  narrated  events  in  a  naive  and  popu- 
lar style.  Such  were  Konrad  Justinger  in  Berne  (1420),  Johannes 
Frund  in  Schwyz  (1450),  Melchior  Russ,  Petermann  Etterlin  and 
Diebold  Schilling  in  Lucerne,  Diebold  Schilling  in  Berne,  before 


428  SWITZERLAND 

1400-1516 

or  after  the  wars  of  Burgundy,  and  Ceroid  Edlibach,  the  stepson  of 
Hans  Waldmann,  in  Zurich. 

Simultaneously  with  this  movement  of  the  popular  mind,  a 
corresponding  stir  of  higher  scientific  activity  was  brought  about 
by  contact  with  foreign  parts.  The  enthusiasm  for  the  study  of 
the  classics  of  Greece  and  Rome  (Humanismus) ,  which  emanated 
from  Italy,  took  firm  root  in  France  and  Germany,  and  produced 
an  entirely  new  culture,  soon  spread  to  Switzerland  also.  The 
first  traces  appear,  though  yet  very  imperfectly,  with  Felix  Hem- 
merli,  a  canon  of  Zurich  in  1440,  who  had  tasted  the  classics  at 
their  source  in  Italy,  and  was  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his 
time.  The  famous  dean  of  the  monastery  of  Einsiedeln,  Albert 
von  Bonstetten  (cir.  1470),  also  brought  the  new  learning  into 
Switzerland  from  foreign  schools.  Among  the  Confederates  it  was 
looked  upon  as  most  important  that  the  Swiss  should  study  in 
foreign  schools,  and  therefore  in  all  treaties  with  foreign  powers  as 
to  the  pay  of  mercenaries,  a  stipulation  was  always  made  for  the 
free  admission  of  a  certain  number  of  Swiss  scholars  into  their 
universities. 

Basle  was  a  great  center  of  learning  in  Switzerland,  and  there, 
by  the  cooperation  of  Pope  Pius  II.,  a  university  was  founded, 
which  soon  gained  renown  in  Europe.  Theology,  law,  medicine, 
and  the  "  seven  free  arts,"  *^  were  taught  here ;  the  most  distin- 
guished families  of  all  the  Swiss  cantons  sent  their  sons  hither. 
The  names  of  learned  Swiss  who  labored  here,  such  as  Thomas 
Wittenbach  and  Clarean  (Heinrich  Loriti,  of  Clarus),  were  held 
in  repute  also  in  other  lands;  and  learned  Germans  of  high  fame, 
like  Erasmus  and  Reuchlin,  lived  and  labored  successfully  in  Basle. 
As  early  as  1460  the  art  of  printing  had  established  itself  in  Basle, 
its  first  seat  in  Switzerland,  and  this  town  became  a  chief  seat  of 
the  book  trade.  We  find  it  a  little  later  in  Beromiinster,  Burgdorf, 
and  Geneva. 

Both  material  and  artistic  culture  flourished  rapidly  after  the 
time  of  the  wars  of  freedom.  What  had  been  denied  to  their  land 
by  the  niggardly  hand  of  Nature  was  supplied  by  the  energy  of  its 
people.  Foreign  relations  gave  rise  to  brisk  commercial  inter- 
course, and  gave  an  impulse  to  home  industries.  The  silk  industry 
early  established  itself  in  Zurich,  and  the  linen  industry  in  St.  Gall ; 
and  Basle,  Berne,  Fribourg,  and  Zurzach  became  famous  for  trade 
**  Grammar,  dialectics,  rhetoric,  arithmetic,  geometry,  astronomy,  and  music. 


AT     HEIGHT    OF     POWER  429 

1400-1516 

and  industries;  they  had  all  extensive  relations  with  the  great 
adjacent  lands  on  the  north,  west,  and  south ;  as,  for  instance,  the 
cloth  goods  of  Fribourg  attained  great  repute  in  Grermany,  France, 
and  Italy.  By  this  means  no  less  than  by  the  great  annuities  which 
were  received  according  to  agreements  for  the  pay  of  mercenaries, 
and  the  magnificent  spoils  carried  off  from  the  great  wars,  the 
wealth  of  the  burgesses  increased  greatly.  Hence,  in  Switzerland, 
too,  both  in  town  and  country,  men  began  to  beautify  existence 
by  art.  Household  utensils,  tables,  chairs,  beds,  cupboards,  and 
wainscots  were  manufactured  of  beautiful  wood,  freely  ornamented 
with  carving;  windows  with  beautifully  painted  panes,  armorial 
bearings,  stoves  with  allegorical  and  historical  pictures,  and  even 
the  outsides  of  houses  were  often  adorned  with  frescoes.  Council 
and  guildhouses  were  endowed  even  more  richly  than  private 
dwellings  with  delicate  carving,  pictures,  and  painted  glass;  and 
from  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  onward  Switzerland  pro- 
duced much  that  was  pleasing  and  really  great  in  those  arts  most 
closely  connected  with  actual  life. 

Gothic  ecclesiastical  architecture  was  yet  in  its  second  bloom : 
the  church  of  St.  Nicholas  in  Fribourg,  the  minster  at  Berne,  the 
church  of  St.  Oswald  in  Zug,  the  Wasserkirche  in  Zurich,  date 
from  this  period.  But  the  Gothic  no  longer  reigned  alone.  A  pref- 
erence for  the  beautiful  forms  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  gradually 
obtained,  the  so-called  Renaissance  style,  which  was  for  the  arts 
what  the  study  of  the  ancient  classics  was  for  learning.  The  new 
birth  of  art,  especially  as  regarded  painting,  found  an  early  place 
in  Switzerland,  owing  to  its  close  relations  to  Italy,  and  also  owing 
to  the  skillful  artists  who  labored  there,  as  Holbein  in  Basle,  Urs 
Graf  in  Soleure,  Nicholas  Manuel  in  Berne,  as  is  attested  by  the 
designs  for  the  colored  glass  in  the  Council  Hall  of  date  1520  and 
the  Holbein  frescoes  on  the  Hertenstein's  house  in  Lucerne,  which 
were  executed  a  little  earlier. 

All  these  circumstances  also  produced  a  reaction  in  social 
life.  Foreign  customs  and  splendid  luxury  were  introduced,  and 
clothing  became  more  costly.  The  desire  for  intellectual  enjoyment 
found  vent  in  the  introduction  of  the  drama  and  the  theater,  as  in 
Lucerne  in  1470;  the  genial  sociability  of  the  fatherland  found 
expression  in  national  Federal  festivals,  such  as  public  shooting 
matches,  a  very  large  one  being  held  in  Zurich  in  1504.  But  this 
desire  did  not  degenerate  into  a  mere  pursuit  of  pleasure;  the 


480  SWITZERLAND 

1400-1516 

affairs  of  the  fatherland  were  eagerly  discussed,  and  the  common 
people  talked  politics  daily,  even  at  weddings  and  in  the  parlors  of 
inns  and  taverns. 

Yet  the  splendor  and  the  progress  thus  developing  in  every 
walk  of  life  brought  lamentable  drawbacks  in  their  train.  Above 
all,  the  pensions  paid  to  the  Swiss  by  foreign  powers,  notably  by 
France,  had  a  most  fatal  influence  on  the  public  spirit ;  for  besides 
the  various  states  influential  individuals  also  secretly  drew  such 
pensions  for  themselves,  often  from  many  princes  simultaneously. 
The  statesman  Waldmann  drew  400  florins  from  the  Austrian 
dominions,  besides  an  additional  4000  florins  for  distribution,  and 
from  Rene,  of  Lorraine,  100  florins.  From  such  practices  it  seems 
probable  that  the  leaders  of  the  state  were  not  seldom  influenced  in 
tlieir  decisions  and  endeavors  by  money. 

Further,  foreign  influence  and  increased  wealth  fostered  a 
laxity  of  morals  that  was  most  injurious.  Former  simplicity  was 
despised,  and  men  began  to  array  themselves  in  silk,  velvet,  costly 
furs,  silver  and  gold  embroideries  set  with  jewels;  and  Spanish 
and  French  fashions  came  into  vogue.  The  mercenaries  on  their 
return  home  usually  brought  with  them  a  habit  of  gossip,  and  much 
vexatious  slander  prevailed.  The  governments  soon  found  them- 
selves forced  to  issue  prohibitions  against  unseemly  and  improper 
clothing,  as  also  against  immoderate  drinking  and  swearing,  and 
to  punish  mercenaries  for  insolence.  Many  mercenaries  no  longer 
cared  to  work  at  home  and  became  idlers  and  vagabonds,  who 
squandered  their  pay  and  then  lived  by  robbery  and  plunder.  In 
the  year  1480  about  1500  thieves  and  vagabonds  had  to  be  executed 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  most  of  whom  were  discharged  mer- 
cenaries. In  regard  to  this  prevailing  wantonness,  and  the  corrup- 
tion wrought  by  pensions  and  by  foreign  hire,  a  great  task  of  reform 
lay  before  the  sixteenth  century. 


Chapter   VII 

THE  ERA  OF  THE  REFORMATION.    1516-1600 

THE  great  changes  which  came  about  in  every  department 
of  life  in  all  the  great  states  of  Europe  about  the  end  of 
the  fifteenth  and  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  centuries  soon 
made  themselves  felt  in  Switzerland  also.  The  Confederates,  every- 
where victorious,  overflowed  with  exuberant  vitality ;  their  national 
life  grew  more  active  and  more  varied  on  the  stage  of  European 
politics,  while  private  life  became  richer  in  comforts,  and  the  arts 
and  sciences  permeated  a  wider  circle  of  society.  The  church  alone, 
whose  guidance  lay  in  other  hands,  followed  the  beaten  track,  and 
blemishes  became  apparent  in  social  and  moral  life  in  startling 
contrast  to  the  new  culture  and  new  views  of  life. 

In  Switzerland,  the  condition  was  on  a  par  with  that  in  Ger- 
many. In  Switzerland,  too,  the  life  of  the  church  had  become  torpid. 
Men  inclined  more  and  more  to  a  mechanical  following  of  out- 
ward ordinances,  and  leaned  to  the  conception  of  religion  as  a 
matter  of  externals.  Even  flourishing  monasteries  with  a  glorious 
past  behind  them,  such  as  St.  Gall,  degenerated  and  allowed 
the  treasures  of  knowledge  to  decay.  An  ordinance  of  Bishop 
Hugo  of  Constance  gives  us  a  gloomy  picture  of  the  times;  the 
chief  pastor  complains  that  so  many  ecclesiastics  and  priests  pay  no 
attention  to  discipline  and  morality,  sit  with  the  laity  in  taverns, 
gamble,  quarrel,  get  drunk,  enter  into  unlawful  contracts,  and  the 
like. 

Many  noble-minded  men  watched  this  mental  and  moral  decay 
of  the  church  and  clergy  with  grief  and  indignation.  As  early  as 
the  time  of  the  old  Zurich  War,  Felix  Hemmerli,  the  broad-minded 
canon  of  Zurich,  openly  condemned  this  negligence,  frivolity,  and 
licentiousness.  In  Berne  the  painter  and  poet  Nicholas  Manuel 
denounced  the  worldliness  of  the  clergy  in  his  "  Dance  of  Death," 
painted  in  the  monastery  of  the  Preaching  Friars,  as  also  in  his 
"Carnival  plays"  {Fastnachtspielen) ,  which  were  performed  in 
public,  and  represented  Christ  with  the  crown  of  thorns,  followed 

431 


432  SWITZERLAND 

1500-1515 

by  the  poor  and  the  sick,  in  contrast  to  the  Pope  riding  on  a  splendid 
steed,  with  his  richly  adorned  retinue. 

Meanwhile  the  "  humanities  "  {Humanismus) ,  reviving  the  spirit 
of  antiquity,  were  leading  men  of  culture  to  a  wider  conception  of 
faith.  Famous  professors  at  Basle,  such  as  Thomas  Wittenback,  were 
moved  to  attack  existing  institutions.  Their  untrammeled  efforts 
rapidly  kindled  a  spark  among  the  youth  of  the  schools  and  univer- 
sities ;  a  new  generation  grew  up,  freer  in  thought  than  the  former, 
and  determined  to  turn  conviction  into  action.  The  authorities  had 
already  set  to  work  in  Switzerland  to  remedy  individual  abuses, 
although  ecclesiastical  affairs  did  not  come  under  the  authority  of 
the  state. 

The  Diet,  however,  had  long  since  included  ecclesiastical  as 
well  as  political  matters  in  the  sphere  of  its  debates  and  in  1479 
sent  a  serious  warning  to  the  Abbot  of  Pfaffers  and  threatened  to 
take  the  monastery  into  their  own  hands.  In  Zurich  attempts  had 
already  been  made  under  Waldmann  to  restrict  the  claims  of  the 
clergy,  and  to  compel  them  to  discipline  by  the  coercion  of  the  state. 
The  Council  of  Zurich  laid  its  prohibitions  on  the  monks,  and 
deprived  Abbot  Trinkler  of  his  office.  In  Berne  the  government 
adopted  a  like  policy. 

Other  abuses,  chiefly  of  a  social  nature,  such  as  the  oppression 
of  the  peasantry,  began  to  make  themselves  felt.  Switzerland  was 
less  affected  in  this  way  than  the  rest  of  Germany,  but  on  the  other 
hand  Switzerland  suffered  from  a  peculiar  political  canker.  From 
the  time  of  the  Burgundian  wars  she  had  formed  the  center  and 
aim  of  European  policy,  whence  all  the  powers  of  Europe  borrowed 
their  forces  for  war ;  she  was,  as  it  were,  "  a  great  human  market, 
where  wholesale  merchants  sought  to  outbid  one  another."  Even 
little  Glarus  was  traversed  by  envoys  from  the  Pope,  the  emperor, 
from  Milan,  Venice,  Savoy,  and  France.  Not  only  did  foreign 
service  often  lead  the  Confederates  against  one  another  in  war,  but 
it  also  drained  the  land  of  its  best  resources,  introduced  evil  habits, 
and  destroyed  the  spirit  of  patriotism ;  the  Swiss  became  dependent 
upon  foreign  powers,  and  only  too  often  their  policy  was  de- 
termined by  money. 

The  native  sense  of  the  people,  it  is  true,  early  realized  the 
uncertainty  and  danger  of  this  state  of  things,  notably  at  the  time 
of  Waldmann's  do^vnfall,  when  the  selfish  ends  of  the  leaders  of  the 
mercenary  bands,   who  were   the   chief   gainers   by   the   system. 


ERA    OF    REFORMATION  433 

1500-1502 

became  apparent.  In  their  exasperation  against  the  dominant 
class  which  had  sprung  up  by  means  of  foreign  pay  and  pensions, 
the  people  tried  to  obtain  a  prohibition  of  all  annuities,  salaries, 
and  donations ;  somewhat  later,  at  the  time  of  the  battles  of  Novara 
(15 13)  and  Marignano  (1515)  organized  rebellions^  took  place 
in  Berne,  Soleure,  and  Lucerne  against  the  French  faction. 
Different  classes  of  people  at  various  times  proposed  a  general 
prohibition  of  pensions,  but  the  majority  was  always  against  it. 
Popular  risings  were  everywhere  suppressed;  the  dominant  class 
remained  and  aroused  dissatisfaction  among  the  country  people, 
whose  instincts  were  those  of  freebom  Swiss.  A  general  revolu- 
tion was  therefore  only  to  be  desired.  But  a  reorganization  must 
necessarily  meet  with  so  much  the  more  opposition,  since  not  only 
the  ecclesiastics  as  well  as  the  ignorant  ranged  themselves  against  it, 
but  all  the  advocates  of  the  foreign  hire  and  pension  system  and  of 
the  old  Federal  conditions  did  likewise. 

The  founder  of  this  Swiss  Reformation  was  Ulrich  Zwingli, 
the  first  among  a  great  number  of  men  like-minded  who  dared 
openly  and  effectually  to  resist  existing  conditions.  Bom  at 
Wildhaus,  in  Toggenburg,  in  1484,  son  of  the  chief  magistrate  of 
the  commune,  his  religious  instincts  were  early  aroused  in  his  own 
home;  his  parents,  probably  through  the  influence  of  two  uncles 
who  were  priests,  destined  him  for  the  ecclesiastical  profession. 
One  of  these  uncles,  Bartholomew  Zwingli,  dean  of  Wesen,  a  most 
humane  and  enlightened  man,  took  charge  of  the  talented  boy  and 
sent  him  in  his  tenth  year  to  a  good  school  at  Basle,  and  afterward 
to  Berne,  where  Zwingli  enjoyed  the  instruction  of  Wolflin 
(Lupulus),  one  of  the  most  famous  humanists;  and  he  finally  at- 
tended the  University  of  Vienna  from  1 500  to  1 502.  Animated  by 
a  keen  thirst  for  knowledge,  he  became,  under  the  teaching  of 
Lupulus,  specially  enamored  of  the  beauties  and  the  brilliant  world 
of  thought  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  classics.  Classical  studies 
took  such  complete  possession  of  his  mind  that  we  find  him  for  a 
time  practicing  as  a  teacher  of  Latin  at  Basle.  There  he  found  in 
Thomas  Wittenbach  a  teacher  in  whom  were  united  deep  religious 
convictions  with  a  liberal  turn  of  mind,  one  who  had  already  cast 
off  the  fetters  of  the  scholastic  methods  which  had  hitherto  pre- 

*  These  were  styled  risings  against  the  "crown  eaters"  (Kronenfresser), 
».  e.,  against  those  in  the  Council  who  were  suspected  of  taking  bribes  in  French 
money — crowns. 


434  SWITZERLAND 

1506-1520 

vailed.  Zwingli  was  strangely  moved  and  determined  to  devote  him- 
self to  this  new  creed. 

In  1506  he  became  a  parish  priest  in  Glarus,  and  besides  the 
duties  of  his  office  he  spent  all  his  leisure  time  in  study.  He 
steeped  himself  in  the  philosophy  of  the  ancients,  specially  that  of 
Plato  and  Seneca,  whose  ideas  he  so  esteemed  that  he  says  they 
had  drunk  of  "  the  heavenly  spring,"  even  though  they  were  not 
Christians.  In  addition,  he  read  the  New  Testament  in  the  orig- 
inal, and  doubts  arose  within  him  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  and  the  papacy.  He  had  an 
opportunity,  moreover,  of  discovering  political  abuses  as  field- 
chaplain  in  the  Italian  campaigns;  he  rejoiced,  like  a  true  patriot, 
it  is  true,  in  the  great  expedition  to  Pavia  in  15 12,  at  the  prowess 
and  bravery  of  his  countrymen;  but  in  the  expedition  of  Mari- 
gnano,  in  15 15,  his  inmost  soul  was  roused  to  indignation  by  the 
moral  corruption  and  profligacy  of  his  country. 

He  left  Glarus,  where  his  opponents  of  the  French  faction 
were  triumphant,  and  in  15 16  was  appointed  preacher  to  Einsie- 
deln,  the  famous  place  of  pilgrimage.  As  yet,  however,  he  made 
no  open  attack  upon  the  teaching  of  the  church.  It  was  only  after 
Luther  had  ventured  the  first  bold  step  in  Germany,  and  when  he 
himself  in  December,  15 18,  was  called  as  a  secular  priest  to  Zurich, 
where  a  great  number  of  the  enlightened  citizens  already  shared  his 
views,  that  he  resolved  upon  any  decisive  breach  with  established 
tradition.  Without  troubling  himself  about  church  usage,  he  began 
at  once,  on  New  Year's  Day,  15 19,  by  preaching  and  expounding 
the  Gospel,  and  his  hearers  testified  that  they  had  never  heard 
the  like. 

Zwingli,  the  humanist,  had  never  been  so  much  attached  to 
the  old  ecclesiastical  system  as  Luther,  the  monk,  therefore  it 
cost  him  less  to  tear  himself  from  it.  It  was  not  with  him,  as  with 
Luther,  the  anxiety  of  an  oppressed  spirit  which  could  find  no  rest 
that  led  him  to  the  Reformation,  but,  before  all  things,  the  reason- 
able love  of  truth  which  he  had  imbibed  from  the  classics.  Zwingli 
was  a  Republican  withal,  took  a  lively  interest  in  political  affairs, 
which  he  brought  within  the  range  of  his  practical  efforts,  and  thus 
aimed  at  Reformation  not  in  creed  only,  but  in  every  department 
of  life.  Just  as  he  attacked  the  clergy,  so  he  condemned  secular 
abuses,  the  system  of  pensions  and  foreign  hire,  and  foreign  alli- 
ances; and  himself  now,  in  1520,  formally  and  openly  resigned  the 


ERA     OF     REFORMATION  435 

1520-1523 

pension  which  the  Pope  had  sent  him  for  some  years  in  succession 
as  a  supporter  of  his  political  interests. 

He  speedily  met  with  considerable  sympathy  in  Zurich,  and 
in  the  very  first  year  could  reckon  upon  more  than  two  thousand 
who  shared  his  views.  The  Diet  assembled  in  Zurich  also  de- 
nounced Bernhardin  Samson,  the  shameless  hawker  of  indulgences, 
and  succeeded  in  keeping  him  out  of  the  town.  At  Zwingli's  in- 
stigation, and  with  the  full  consent  of  the  Landsgemeinden,  who 
had  to  give  in  their  votes  in  due  form,  the  Council  rejected  the 
alliance  with  France  concluded  by  the  twelve  states  in  May,  1521. 
The  adherents  of  the  old  regime,  however,  now  began  to  bestir 
themselves ;  in  spite  of  all  Zwingli's  efforts,  the  advocates  of  foreign 
service  induced  Zurich  to  provide  the  Pope  with  mercenary  troops 
for  the  expedition  to  Piacenza  in  1521.  Meanwhile  Zwingli's 
preaching  began  to  take  effect.  The  reformer  having  declared  that 
fasting  was  not  obligatory,  certain  of  the  inhabitants  of  Zurich  in 
1522  disregarded  a  mandate  of  the  bishop  enjoining  a  fast,  for 
which  they  were  punished. 

Zwingli  therefore  wished  to  establish  the  truth  of  his  views, 
and  to  convince  everyone  of  the  hollowness  of  all  reasoning  to  the 
contrary,  by  open  discussion  with  his  opponents.  Hence,  on  Jan- 
uary 29,  1523,  the  first  disputation  was  held  at  Zurich.  Faber — 
the  episcopal  vicar-general  of  Constance,  a  learned  man  who  had 
formerly  himself  had  some  leanings  toward  the  Reformation,  but 
who  had  changed  his  attitude  in  order  to  obtain  preferment — en- 
tered the  lists  as  Zwingli's  chief  opponent,  but  he  was  completely 
worsted  by  the  latter. 

Henceforth  began  the  actual  Reformation.  The  council  de- 
cided that  Zwingli  should  continue  as  heretofore;  and  he  immedi- 
ately set  to  work  to  remodel  the  monasteries,  especially  the  Institute 
of  Canons  in  the  town  of  Zurich.  For  the  first  time  an  ecclesiastic, 
Wilhelm  Roubli,  of  Wytikon,  now  ventured  to  be  publicly  married 
(April,  1523)  ;  soon  a  number  of  other  eminent  ecclesiastics  fol- 
lowed his  example:  and  in  the  following  year  Zwingli  himself 
married  the  excellent  Anna  Reinhart,  the  widow  of  a  nobleman  of 
Zurich,  with  whom  he  led  the  happiest  family  life.  Thenceforth 
marriage  became  the  rule  among  the  clergy  of  the  Reformation. 

Zwingli's  friends,  however,  being  guilty  of  many  rash  pro- 
ceedings and  seeking  to  get  rid  of  pictures  and  church  furniture 
by  force,  violent  opposition  soon  arose,  until  the  second  disputation 


436  SWITZERLAND 

1523-1525 

at  Zurich  in  October,  1523,  established  Zwingli's  points  more 
clearly  and  put  a  stop  to  all  violent  dealings.  Konrad  Schmied,  a 
friend  of  Zwingli's  and  the  distinguished  head  of  the  monastery 
of  the  Order  of  St.  John,  in  Kiissnacht,  on  the  Lake  of  Zurich, 
urged  that  the  weaker  brethren  should  not  be  harassed,  but  treated 
with  indulgence.  The  greater  council — chiefly  composed  of 
Zwingli's  adherents — ^pursued  their  efforts  in  the  cause  of  the 
Reformation  with  fresh  courage.  But  just  as  he  had  estab- 
lished it  within  the  city  by  instruction,  not  by  violence,  so  in 
the  country  he  secured  the  consent  of  the  people.  Zwingli  and  his 
friends  went  among  the  various  communities,  and  by  their  in- 
fluence opinions  were  formed  which  were  vehemently  expressed 
in  favor  of  the  Reformation.  Consequently,  almost  without  op- 
position or  tumult,  pictures  were  abolished  in  1524,  then  the 
monasteries  were  dissolved,  and  in  1525  the  mass  was  discontinued. 
Under  Zwingli's  guidance  Zurich  was  completely  changed.  The 
temporal  possessions  and  rights  of  the  canons  of  the  Gross- 
mi'mster,  which,  like  a  kind  of  small  principality,  had  hitherto 
formed  a  state  within  a  state,  he  transferred  to  the  state.  Out  of 
the  revenues  he  erected  a  school  for  theologians  and  humanists 
(the  Carolinum),  and  invited  such  eminent  men  as  Pelligan, 
Ceporin,  Myconius,  and  Collin  to  be  its  teachers.  Zurich  was 
raised  into  a  nursery  of  the  higher  culture.  The  religious  houses, 
both  in  the  city  and  in  the  country  districts,  were  converted  into 
hospitals,  almshouses,  and  schools,  and  regulations  were  issued  for 
the  poor  and  the  sick,  and  also  concerning  marriage,  for  the  whole 
state. 

Among  the  many  whom  these  changes  failed  to  satisfy  the  sect 
known  as  Anabaptists  were  conspicuous.  That  the  latter  should 
reject  infant  baptism  and  insist  upon  the  baptism  of  adults  was  a 
deviation  of  little  importance;  but  they  were  very  zealous  for  the 
strictest  application  of  the  Gospel  and  the  conditions  of  primitive 
Christianity,  and  equally  so  against  the  prevailing  social  system,  the 
difference  between  rich  and  poor,  and  against  the  oppressive  feudal 
taxes  (tithes  and  ground  rents),  and  thus  once  more  aroused  the 
efforts  of  the  oppressed  peasants.  To  these  demands,  which  were 
to  some  extent  reasonable,  they  united  fanatical  and  extravagant 
ideas  about  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  thought  they  had 
received  revelations,  imagined  themselves  the  "  chosen  of  the 
Lord,"  and  wanted  to  purge  the  church  of  the  "  impure,"  or  to 


ERA    OF    REFORMATION  iOTt 

1523-1525 

form  a  church  of  the  pure  and  holy.  These  Anabaptists  appeared 
in  Switzerland  (in  Zurich  and  St.  Gall,  for  example)  about  the 
same  time  as  in  Germany.  Their  most  zealous  leaders  were 
Konrad  Grebel  and  Felix  Manz,  both  of  Zurich,  learned  men  of 
spirit  and  understanding,  but  full  of  passionate  zeal.  The  excesses 
of  the  Anabaptists  were  naturally  regarded  as  dangerously  inimical 
to  the  Reformation.  The  state  itself  saw  its  very  existence  threat- 
ened by  them,  all  the  disputations  having  hitherto  availed  nothing 
for  their  instruction.  Authoritative  measures  were  taken  against 
them,  and  severe  punishments  were  inflicted  upon  them,  as  was  the 
spirit  of  the  age;  some  were  drowned,  and  among  them  Felix 
Manz. 

The  peasants  next  began  to  grow  restless.  When  in  1525 
the  collective  peasantry  of  southern  Germany  rose  in  revolt,  and  in 
twelve  articles  demanded  the  abolition  of  tithes,  of  villainage,  of 
hunting  monopolies,  the  diminution  of  taxes  and  compulsory  serv- 
ice, these  ideas  spread  to  their  neighbors  of  Basle,  Zurich,  and 
Schaffhausen.  In  many  places,  at  Eglisau,  Griiningen,  Rutli,  and 
Greifensee,  the  peasants  declared  that  God  had  created  water,  the 
woods,  fields,  birds,  wild  game,  and  fish  freely  for  every  man  with- 
out distinction,  and  that  it  was  but  righteous  and  just  that  every 
man  in  the  country  districts  should  pursue  his  craft  or  trade  as  in 
the  city,  and  that  everyone  in  the  country  should  have  free  access 
to  and  intercourse  with  the  city.  They  complained  bitterly  of  the 
oppressive  innovations  which  had  been  introduced  in  Waldmann's 
time.  Popular  riots  ensued ;  the  monasteries  of  Riitli  and  Bubikon 
were  attacked  and  plundered,  and  on  June  5  a  popular  assembly 
was  brought  about  at  Toss.  The  authorities  and  Zwingli,  how- 
ever, allayed  the  storm.  The  gentle  and  conciliatory  works  of 
Rudolf  Lavater,  the  bailiff  of  Kiburg  in  Toss,  and  the  liberal 
hospitality  practiced  by  the  town  of  Winterthur,  succeeded  in 
appeasing  the  vehemently  excited  minds  of  the  populace.  At 
Zwingli's  instigation  the  Council  abolished  villainage,  as  far  as 
lay  in  their  power,^  the  tithes  were  lessened,  and  a  prospect  held 
out  of  their  partial  remission.  The  Council  of  Basle  made  similar 
grants,  and  Zurich  added  that  from  all  time  the  city  and  the  lake 
communes  had  been  one,  and  that  the  latter  should  be  regarded 
as  burgesses  of  the  town.      Schaffhausen  resorted  to  force.      The 

*  Namely,  only  for  the  bondmen  who  belonged  to  the  state  of  Zurich,  and 
not  to  outside  owners. 


438  SWITZERLAND 

182S-1525 

unfavorable  issue  of  the  Peasants'  War  in  Germany  afterward 
materially  contributed  to  intimidate  the  peasants  in  Switzerland. 

The  Forest  States  became  more  and  more  adverse  and  hostile 
in  their  attitude  toward  the  commenced  work  of  the  Reformation. 
From  the  outset  they  clung  more  to  the  glorious  inheritance  re- 
ceived from  their  forefathers.  In  their  simple  conditions  they  saw 
less  of  the  abuses  of  the  system,  and  a  liberal  education  was  un- 
known among  them;  even  social  abuses  were  not  so  severely  felt 
by  them  as  by  the  other  states.  Moreover,  they  saw  their  most 
important  source  of  gain  threatened  by  Zwingli's  zeal  against  mer- 
cenary service  and  foreign  alliances;  and  on  this  point  the  other 
states  were  at  one  with  them,  particularly  Lucerne,  which  was 
strongly  influenced  by  French  money,  and  was  striving  to  obtain 
a  position  of  power  similar  to  that  of  Zurich.  Hence,  when 
Zwingli  abolished  the  mass  and  purged  the  churches,  the  Forest 
States  prevailed  upon  the  Diet  held  at  Lucerne  in  1524  to  decide 
to  hold  fast  to  the  old  faith,  and  if  necessary  to  resort  to  punish- 
ments. Zurich  was  admonished  to  reestablish  the  old  religion,  and 
as  this  produced  no  effect,  the  Forest  States  withdrew  their 
Federal  friendship;  some  people  even  suggested  publishing  the 
Federal  charters  to  the  state  so  desirous  of  innovation. 

The  first  conflict  broke  out  in  the  common  dominion  of 
Thurgau.  The  Thurgau,  as  common  subject-land,  was  obliged 
on  all  occasions  to  have  recourse  to  Zurich  as  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, and  through  her  intercourse  with  that  town  the  Reformation 
speedily  took  root  throughout  the  districts  of  the  territory  of  Thur- 
gau. But  the  bailiffs  of  the  Forest  towns  hindered  it,  and  availed 
themselves  of  every  slightest  occasion  to  take  violent  measures 
against  the  new  doctrine;  they  specially  turned  their  attention  to 
Stammheim  and  Stein,  dependencies  of  Zurich,  which  were  under 
the  high  jurisdiction  of  the  Thurgau.  Both  these  places  readily 
accepted  the  Reformation  with  Zurich,  but  when  they  began  to 
abolish  images,  Amberg,  the  bailiff  from  Schwyz,  interfered  and 
caused  Pastor  Ochslin  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Stein. 
Thereupon  a  popular  tumult  broke  out,  and  the  Carthusian  monas- 
tery of  Ittingen,  a  stronghold  of  the  old  faith,  was  burned  to  the 
ground  in  July,  1524.  The  under-bailiffs,  Wirth  and  Riittimann, 
of  Stammheim  and  Nussbaumen,  were  falsely  accused  of  insti- 
gating the  riot,  together  with  the  pastors  there,  sons  of  Wirth,  and 
were  thrown  into  prison.      Zurich  could  effect  nothing  by  hef 


ERA    OF    REFORMATION  439 

1523-1526 

intercession,  but  was  obliged  to  submit  to  the  majority  of  the 
governing  states;  three  of  the  innocent  prisoners  were  condemned 
at  Baden  and  mercilessly  executed.  Thus  fell  the  first  victims  to 
religious  hatred,  and  a  war  very  nearly  broke  out;  but  the  severe 
defeat  which  the  Swiss  mercenaries  had  sustained  in  February, 
1525,  with  the  French  at  Pavia  at  the  hands  of  the  imperialists 
had  damped  the  warlike  zeal  of  the  five  Catholic  states — ^Uri, 
Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Lucerne,  and  Zug. 

Meanwhile,  however,  in  spite  of  bitter  opposition,  the  Ref- 
ormation had  already  forced  its  way  into  a  great  part  of  the  Con- 
federation. As  early  as  the  second  disputation  delegates  from 
Schaffhausen  and  St.  Gall  had  taken  its  part.  In  Schaffhausen, 
where  the  ecclesiastical  movement  was  closely  connected  with  a 
political  one,  the  victory  of  the  guilds  over  the  nobility,  there  labored 
friends  of  Zwingli,  such  as  Sebastian  Wagner  (Hofmeister).  In 
St.  Gall  the  celebrated  city-physician  and  humanist,  Joachim  von 
Watt  (Vadian),  afterward  burgomaster,  labored  for  the  Gospel, 
as  did  John  Kessler,  writer  and  saddler,  who  had  studied  with 
Luther  and  Melanchthon  at  Wittenberg.  In  Glarus  the  Reforma- 
tion was  advanced  by  divers  liberal-minded  pastors,  disciples  of 
Zwingli,  notably  Valentine  Tschudin. 

Basle  soon  cast  off  the  episcopal  dominion ;  several  learned  men 
at  the  university,  especially  Zwingli's  friend,  Okolampadius,  "  the 
light  of  the  house,"  were  there  active  on  behalf  of  the  new  doctrine. 
Berne  found  a  reformer  in  Zwingli's  friend,  Berthold  Haller. 
Young  priests,  disciples  of  Zwingli,  carried  the  new  ideas  even 
into  the  little  state  of  Appenzell;  the  more  enlightened  population 
of  the  lowland  portion  (the  present  Outer  Rhodes)  in  1524  ob- 
tained a  decision  of  the  Landsgemeinde  in  favor  of  religious  lib- 
erty, whereupon  a  number  of  communes  accepted  the  Reformation. 
Friends  of  Zwingli  and  clergy  from  Zurich  carried  the  seed  of  the 
Reformation  even  to  the  remote  Grisons,  where  its  cause  was 
essentially  advanced  by  an  antagonism  of  long  standing  to  the 
episcopal  rule.  Liberty  of  faith  having  been  established  at  a 
disputation  at  Ilanz  in  1526,  the  bishop  and  clergy  were  afterward 
excluded  from  the  Federal  Diet,  and  from  appointments  to  secular 
offices;  by  this  means  the  Grisons  also  took  an  important  step 
toward  independence.  Thus  little  by  little  the  Reformation  gained 
the  ascendent  in  the  whole  of  the  northeast  of  Switzerland.  In 
1525  the  neutral  states  of  Basle,  Schaffhausen,  and  Appenzell  sep- 


440  SWITZERLAND 

1526--I528 

arated  themselves  from  the  other  CathoHc  states ;  and  also  Soleure, 
Berne,  and  Glarus  assumed  either  a  neutral  position  or  one  favor- 
able to  the  Reformation,  and  disapproved  of  the  very  severe  de- 
cisions of  the  Diet  against  Zurich. 

Meanv^hile  the  remaining  six  Catholic  states  hoped  to  succeed 
in  gaining  the  victory  for  their  religion  in  the  same  v^^ay  as  Zwingli 
had  in  Zurich,  by  arranging  a  disputation  at  Baden  in  May,  1526. 
Their  plan  seemed  to  meet  with  brilliant  success,  for  Zurich  held 
aloof,  because  impartial  management  was  not  to  be  expected,  and 
also  fears  were  entertained  for  Zwingli's  life,  for  in  1523,  at  the 
instigation  of  Lucerne,  a  Diet  had  decided  that  he  should  be  ar- 
rested wherever  found  on  Federal  soil.  On  the  Catholic  side  there 
appeared  Dr.  Eck,  the  most  able  controversialist  of  Germany,  and 
other  learned  men  of  mark,  such  as  Faber,  the  vicar-general,  and 
Murner,  the  Franciscan  monk,  who  defended  the  ancient  church 
with  such  assurance  and  such  ability  that  the  Catholics  might 
well  triumph  in  their  victory.  The  reformers  disputed  the  victory 
with  their  opponents,  and  complained  of  fraud  in  the  report  drawn 
up  by  the  other  faction. 

The  places  which  had  hitherto  remained  neutral  (with  the 
exception  of  Soleure)  now  took  up  a  much  more  decided  position 
of  hostility  toward  the  strict  Catholics  and  aided  Zurich.  Berne 
in  especial  now  took  part  openly  with  the  Reformation,  having 
quarreled  with  the  Forest  States,  who  refused  to  publish  the  acts 
of  Baden.  A  reelection  of  the  Council  (1527)  turned  completely 
in  favor  of  the  partisans  of  the  Reformation,  and  the  government 
arranged  a  disputation  in  January,  1528,  in  order  to  bring  the 
wavering  to  a  decision.  On  the  papal  side  only  very  insignificant 
speakers  attended;  Zwingli,  on  the  other  hand,  distinguished  him- 
self by  his  perspicuity  and  depth  of  thought.  When  at  the  close 
of  the  disputation  he  preached  in  the  minster,  a  priest  who  was  just 
preparing  for  the  mass  was  so  overcome  by  the  force  of  his  words 
that  he  threw  aside  his  vestments,  and  cried :  "  If  it  be  so  with 
the  mass,  then  will  I  neither  to-day  nor  ever  henceforth  hold 
mass!"  Berne  joined  Zurich  in  carrying  out  the  Reformation, 
and  also  concurred  in  insisting  upon  the  abolition  of  the  pension 
system  and  such-like  Federal  matters.  The  secession  of  this 
powerful  and  important  city  with  her  vast  territory  secured  the 
continuance  of  the  new  doctrine  in  the  whole  of  Switzerland,  for 
the  step  taken  by  Berne  also  led  to  the  complete  establishment  of 


ERA     OF     REFORMATION  441 

1526-1528 

the  Reformation  in  Basle,  Schaffhausen,  and  St.  Gall.  Most  of 
the  professors  at  Basle  left  the  university,  and  the  bishop  removed 
to  Porrentruy  (Pruntrut),  in  the  Jura. 

With  the  increasing  spread  of  evangelical  teaching,  the  an- 
tagonism between  the  Catholic  and  the  Reformed  states  was  height- 
ened. The  immense  progress  of  the  Reformation  in  the  common 
domains,  in  particular,  led  to  constant  disputes.  In  addition  to 
the  Thurgau,  evangelical  doctrines  had  won  the  day  in  the  Rhein- 
tal,  belonging  to  the  eight  original  states  (1527),  then  in  Sargans 
and  Gaster,  and  in  the  common  domains  of  Baden  and  the  Free 
Bailiwicks  it  had  likewise  gained  ground.  Hitherto  the  principle 
had  indeed  been  maintained  that  in  the  common  dominions  all 
things  should  be  decided  by  the  majority ;  Zurich  and  Berne,  how- 
ever, would  not  allow  that  principle  to  hold  good  in  religious 
matters,  and  insisted  that  every  commune  should  enjoy  uncon- 
ditional religious  liberty.  The  reforming  of  these  territories  re- 
sulted in  a  constant  decrease  there  of  the  influence  of  the  Catholic 
states.  Zurich  meanwhile  had  extended  her  power  by  other  meas- 
ures. As  early  as  1527  she  concluded  an  "  Evangelical  Alliance" 
with  the  reformed  town  of  Constance,  thus  forming  a  separate 
league ;  this  was  joined  by  Berne,  St.  Gall,  Miilhausen,  and  Bienne, 
after  the  triumph  of  the  new  doctrine  in  each  of  those  states  re- 
spectively. Zwingli,  who  by  his  paramount  influence  in  Zurich 
held  sway  even  in  political  matters,  and  was  practically  to  a  certain 
extent  burgomaster,  town  clerk,  and  council  all  in  one,  proceeded  in 
consequence  with  even  more  energy.  In  order  to  make  their 
opponents  feel  their  supremacy,  the  inhabitants  of  Zurich  punished 
most  severely  every  offense  against  their  creed,  and  now  tried  to 
procure  the  triumph  of  their  opinions  in  the  territory  of  their  ad- 
versaries by  force.  Thus  Max  Wehrli,  the  bailiff's  officer  {Land- 
weibel)  in  the  Thurgau,  was  put  to  death  for  alleged  aspersions 
u|X)n  Zurich,  and  thus  a  cruel  revenge  was  taken  for  the  sanguin- 
ary decree  of  Ittingen. 

Zurich  specially  exasperated  her  enemies  by  supporting  the 
subjects  of  the  Abbot  of  St.  Gall,  who  sided  with  the  Reformation 
and  applied  to  Zurich  as  one  of  the  protecting  states  of  the  abbey.^ 
When  the  evangelicals  attacked  the  church  in  Toggenburg  in  1528, 
denounced  the  monastery  of  St.  John,  and  drove  out  its  abbot,  Zurich 

"The  Abbey  of  St.   Gall  was  under  the  protection  of  Zurich,  Lucerne, 
Glarus,  and  Schwyz. 


44a  SWITZERLAND 

1528-1529 

encouraged  the  Toggenburg  folk  to  refuse  homage  to  the  Abbot 
of  St.  Gall ;  a  similar  course  was  pursued  in  the  "  Old  Territory," 
where  the  town  of  St.  Gall,  Rorschach,  and  several  communes 
abolished  Catholic  worship  and  refused  obedience  to  the  abbot. 
The  other  states  protecting  the  abbey,  especially  Schwyz,  embraced 
contrary  measures,  and  mutual  preparations  for  war  speedily  en- 
sued. During  these  disputes  Murner,  the  Franciscan,  hurled  such 
bitter  satires  and  invectives  at  Zurich  and  Berne  that  these  states 
demanded  satisfaction  at  the  Diet ;  Lucerne,  however,  took  Murner 
under  her  protection. 

A  separate  league  entered  Into  by  the  Catholic  states  ac- 
celerated the  rupture.  In  order  to  be  able  to  depend  upon  the 
support  of  their  coreligionists,  these  states  resolved  upon  the  fatal 
step  taken  by  Zurich  a  hundred  years  earlier,  namely,  an  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance  with  Austria,  concluded  in  April,  1529  ("  the 
Christian  Alliance,"  or  the  "Treaty  of  Ferdinand  ").  This  union 
gave  a  greater  shock  to  the  Federal  Leagues  than  even  the  union 
of  Zurich  with  Constance.  At  this  crisis  the  Reformed  pastor, 
Jakob  Kaiser,  of  Schwerzenbach,  being  taken  prisoner  by  the  men 
of  Schwyz  and  burned  to  death  for  promulgating  the  new  doctrine 
upon  their  territory,  and  Murner  pouring  forth  fresh  invectives,  a 
civil  war  broke  out. 

Zwingli  was  resolved  upon  war;  he  hoped  by  its  means  to 
advance  the  cause  of  religion,  and  induced  Zurich  to  take  arms 
so  much  the  more  eagerly,  that  he  believed  it  necessary  to  oppose 
the  power  of  the  emperor  and  of  Ferdinand  in  the  name  of  the 
Reformation.  Zurich  forestalled  the  enemy,  speedily  took  pos- 
session of  the  Free  Bailiwicks,  and  stationed  her  main  army  at 
Kappel  in  June,  1529.  The  Bernese,  although  not  so  eager  for 
war,  also  marched  out.  But  the  people  had  not  lost  all  sense  of 
Federal  brotherhood;  sentries  and  advanced  guards  encountered 
one  another  in  friendly  fashion;  when  for  instance  a  number  of 
boon  companions  from  the  Forest  States  had  got  possession  of  a 
large  vessel  full  of  milk,  but  had  no  bread,  they  placed  it  on  the 
frontier  and  called  to  the  men  of  Zurich ;  the  latter  brought  bread, 
and  they  shared  milk  porridge  amid  merry  jests.  Jakob  Sturm, 
Mayor  (Stadtmeister)  of  Strassburg,  said  of  them :  "  You  Con- 
federates are  a  wonderful  people;  even  in  discord  you  are  at  one, 
and  never  forget  your  old  friendship !  "  This  frame  of  mind  at 
that  time  still  prevailed,  and  most  shrank  from  civil  war.     Neither 


ERA    OF    REFORMATION  443 

1529-1530 

were  the  Catholics  very  eager  for  war,  since  the  Reformers  were 
better  armed  and  had  a  more  powerful  force  in  the  field.  The 
Landammann  Aebli  of  Glarus  therefore  succeeded  in  effecting  a 
truce,  and  through  the  intervention  of  the  neutral  states  on  June 
25,  1529,  the  first  Peace  of  Kappel  was  concluded,  seemingly  against 
Zwingli's  wish.  By  it  mutual  liberty  of  faith  was  secured,  the 
right  of  decision  in  religious  matters  in  the  common  domains  was 
yielded  to  the  communes  on  the  principle  of  majority,  and  the 
Austrian  alliance  was  broken  off. 

Still  further  encouraged  by  the  concessions  of  their  adver- 
saries, Zwingli  and  his  adherents  endeavored  to  completely  subju- 
gate the  five  states.  Without  any  reference  to  the  other  protecting 
states  (Lucerne  and  Schwyz),  the  two  states  of  Zurich  and  Glarus, 
challenged  by  their  opponents,  declared  that  the  Abbot  of  St.  Gall, 
who  had  fled,  had  forfeited  his  domain,  disposed  absolutely  of  the 
goods  of  the  monasteries,  and  gave  a  free  constitution  to  the  Tog- 
genburg,  the  home  of  the  Reformation.  The  evangelicals  next 
concluded  a  league  with  Philip  of  Hesse.  Zwingli,  whose  plan  of 
operations  extended  far  beyond  Switzerland,  had  long  seen  with 
anxiety  the  growing  power  of  Charles  V.  and  his  hostile  inten- 
tions toward  the  Reformation.  He  wanted  to  effect  a  league  to 
oppose  him,  and  therefore  endeavored  at  the  religious  conference 
at  Marburg,  in  October,  1529,  to  form  an  agreement  and  an  al- 
liance with  the  German  Protestants.  This  failing,  he  immediately 
attacked  his  opponents  in  Switzerland.  It  was  his  intention  to 
dominate  the  Forest  States,  whom  he  regarded  as  incapable,  to 
deprive  them  of  all  right  to  the  common  domains,  and  to  degrade 
them  into  vassals  of  Zurich  and  Berne.  These  two  cities,  which 
surpassed  all  the  other  states  put  together  in  extent  of  territory  and 
in  population,  and  which  had  formed  the  starting-point  of  the 
Reformation,  he  considered  as  the  basis  of  the  Confederation.  It 
was  his  aim  to  establish  a  uniform  Federal  Government,  in  which 
the  larger  states  should  be  paramount,  to  carry  reform  throughout 
the  Confederation,  and  to  sweep  away  the  system  of  pensions  and 
mercenary  service.  He  once  more  allowed  himself  to  be  torn 
from  these  lofty  aims  to  seek  a  decision  at  the  sword's  point.  In 
the  emperor  and  in  his  brother  Ferdinand  of  Austria,  with  whom 
the  five  states  cultivated  friendly  relations,  he  not  only  saw  the 
bitterest  foes  of  the  German  Reformation,  but  also  credited  them 
with  an  intention  of  exterminating  the  Reformed  party  in  Switzer- 


444  SWITZERLAND 

1631 

land,  in  concert  with  the  five  states.  He  therefore  entered  into 
negotiations  with  Francis  I.  of  France,  the  chief  enemy  of  Charles 
v.,  and  with  Venice,  and  when  in  Germany  also,  to  his  joy,  the 
party  prepared  for  the  struggle  at  Schmalcalden,  he  thought  the 
moment  had  come  for  open  warfare. 

Various  causes  combined  to  give  him  his  opportunity.  Jacob 
of  Medici,  lord  of  the  Castle  of  Musso,  on  the  Lake  of  Como, 
apparently  in  collusion  with  Austria,  attacked  and  surprised  the 
Valtelline,  a  subject-land  of  the  Grisons.  The  Grisons  called  in 
the  help  of  the  Confederates,  but  only  the  Protestant  states  marched 
out  (April,  1531),  while  the  five  states  refused  their  aid.  This 
aroused  the  suspicion  that  they  were  in  conspiracy  with  the  enemy, 
and  Zurich  accused  them  of  breaking  the  league.  Then  came  all 
manner  of  spiteful  invectives  and  accusations  on  the  part  of  the 
five  states.  The  war  with  Musso  now  taking  a  favorable  turn,  the 
Confederation  prepared  for  a  second  religious  war.  Zurich  con- 
sidered that  peace  was  no  longer  possible,  and  hoped  to  obtain  more 
favorable  conditions  by  the  decision  of  war.  She  was  with  diffi- 
culty persuaded,  at  the  desire  of  the  allied  towns,  in  May,  1531, 
to  coerce  the  five  states  by  a  blockade  of  provisions  only.  This 
measure  had  the  opposite  effect:  instead  of  submission,  the  Catho- 
lics offered  a  most  daring  resistance,  and  on  October  9  they  de- 
clared war. 

Zurich  had  not  expected  this ;  she  had  neither  secured  the  aid 
of  her  coreligionists  nor  made  due  preparations  herself.  Par- 
alyzed by  dissensions  within  her  own  territories,  and  not  less  by 
the  coolness  and  alienation  of  Berne,  Zurich  tardily  sent  1200  men 
to  Kappel  on  October  10,  under  Captain  George  Goldli,  who  was 
inimical  to  ZwingH,  with  injunctions  not  to  let  himself  be  drawn 
into  a  battle  until  the  main  army  should  come  up.  Instead  of  obey- 
ing, Goldli,  on  October  11,  allowed  himself,  though  occupying  a 
most  unfavorable  position,  to  be  drawn  into  a  battle  with  the 
powerful  army  of  the  five  states,  numbering  about  8000  men;  and 
when  about  midday  on  the  same  day  a  reinforcement  of  1500  men 
appeared  under  Rudolf  Lavater,  accompanied  by  Zwingli  himself, 
the  conflict  was  already  almost  decided.  The  manly  courage  dis- 
played by  the  men  of  Zurich  was  all  in  vain :  by  a  flank  movement 
the  five  states  rendered  the  position  of  the  Zurich  troops  untenable. 
Zwingli  himself  fell  beneath  a  tree.  Recognized  by  the  light  of  the 
torches,  the  dying  man  received  his  death-blow  from  a  captain  of 


ERA     OF     REFORMATION  445 

1531 

mercenaries  from  Unterwalden ;  but  Pastor  Schonbrunner,  of  Zug-, 
exclaimed  as  he  looked  at  the  corpse :  "  Whatever  thou  hast  been 
as  to  thy  faith,  I  know  thou  hast  been  a  good  Confederate !  "  Over 
500  of  the  men  of  Zurich,  many  of  them  of  the  foremost  of  the  city, 
remained  dead  on  the  field.  In  vain  did  the  Bernese  and  others  of 
the  Reformed  religion  advance  to  the  help  of  the  Zurich  troops ;  they 
were  altogether  wanting  in  unity  and  confidence;  and  the  victory 
of  the  Catholics  was  completed  by  an  attack  made  on  the  night  of 
October  24  on  the  Gubel,  near  Zug,  upon  the  men  of  Zurich  and 
their  allies. 

The  five  states  were  at  first  resolved  to  pursue  their  advantage 
to  the  utmost  against  Zurich;  but  Colder,  the  chief  magistrate  of 
Lucerne,  urged  them  to  treat  the  men  of  Zurich  as  brothers  and 
fellow-Confederates,  and  to  be  lenient  with  them,  and  his  advice 
at  length  prevailed.  So  the  second  Peace  of  Kappel  (November 
20)  assured  the  free  exercise  of  religion  to  every  state,  and  relig- 
ious liberty  even  to  the  common  domains;  but  a  Protestant  ma- 
jority was  not  to  be  allowed  to  compel  a  Catholic  minority  to 
change  their  religion,  and  all  separate  leagues  were  abolished. 

The  Reformed  party  was  terribly  disheartened  by  the  result  of 
the  second  war  of  Kappel.  The  adherents  of  the  older  faith 
became  more  arrogant  in  their  bearing;  not  only  was  the  scheme 
for  the  further  spread  of  the  Reformation  shattered,  but  with  it 
that  of  the  political  reform  of  the  Confederation,  and  Zwingli's 
cherished  hope  of  establishing  the  supremacy  of  Berne  and  Zurich 
was  dashed  to  the  ground.  The  territories  of  those  two  cities  were 
in  a  state  of  violent  fermentation,  and  general  dissatisfaction  with 
the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  authorities  reigned.  In  order  to 
avoid  an  insurrection,  Zurich  was  forced,  in  December,  1 531,  to 
promise  by  the  "  Charter  of  Kappel "  to  consult  the  rural  districts 
on  all  matters  of  importance,  and  particularly  to  commence  no  war 
without  their  consent.  Berne  was  obliged  to  concede  the  same  to 
her  country-folk,  to  grant  free  trade,  and  to  lighten  the  tithes. 
Zwingli's  place  as  chief  pastor  (Antist)  of  the  church  of  Zurich 
was  taken  by  Henry  Bullinger,  of  Bremgarten,  who,  supported  by 
Leo  Jud,  carried  on  Zwingli's  eccelesiastical  work  with  fidelity  and 
discretion,  but  relinquished  his  political  schemes  and  undertakings. 

In  consequence,  however,  of  the  preeminence  of  the  five  states 
after  the  battle  of  Kappel,  a  Catholic  reaction  rapidly  ensued.  In 
certain  communes  in  Glarus  Catholic  worship  was  reestablished, 


446  SWITZERLAND 

1532 

as  also  in  Rapperswil,  in  the  Free  Bailiwicks,  in  Utznach,  Wesen, 
and  Gaster.  The  Abbot  of  St.  Gall  returned  to  the  protection  of 
the  five  states,  completely  reestablished  the  sway  of  the  monastery 
over  the  "  Old  Territory  "  and  Toggenburg,  and  partially  restored 
Catholicism.  The  five  states  were  specially  successful  in  Soleure, 
where  the  Catholics  sought  to  crush  the  Reformation  completely. 
In  October,  1532,  the  two  factions  were  already  in  arms  against 
one  another,  when  Nicholas  Wengi,  the  Catholic  mayor,  rushing 
in  front  of  the  guns  of  his  faction,  exclaimed :  "  If  the  blood  of 
my  fellow-citizens  must  flow,  then  let  mine  be  the  first ! "  The 
combatants  yielded  in  astonishment,  and  civil  war  was  averted. 
The  Reformed  party,  however,  were  so  alarmed  that  many  left 
the  town,  and  others  joined  the  Catholics,  so  that  the  counter- 
reformation  prevailed. 

As  a  result  of  this  reaction  the  religious  conditions  of  Switz- 
erland took  definite  shape;  the  five  states,  with  Valais,  the  Free 
Bailiwicks,  Rapperswil,  Utznach,  and  Gaster  forming  one  united 
Catholic  Federal  territory,  and  acting  as  a  bulwark  to  Fribourg 
and  Soleure  on  the  west,  and  to  Inner  Rhodes  in  Appenzell  and 
St.  Gall  on  the  east.  Separated  from  one  another  on  all  sides,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  encircled  by  arms  of  the  Catholic  territory,  or 
by  "districts  of  parity"*  (Baden,  the  Thurgau,  Toggenburg, 
Rheintal,  and  Glarus),  the  Reformed  territories  of  Berne,  Basle, 
Zurich,  Schaflhausen,  Outer  Rhodes  in  Appenzell,  Werdenberg, 
and  the  Grisons  were  more  isolated.  On  this  account  the  Reformed 
party  labored  under  a  disadvantage,  but  an  opportunity  soon  arose 
for  a  considerable  extension  of  their  power  in  the  territories  of 
western  Switzerland. 

Owing  to  the  immense  strides  taken  by  the  house  of  Savoy 
during  the  thirteenth  century,  the  bond  between  the  present  west- 
em  Switzerland  and  eastern  Switzerland  had  grown  lax,  until 
during  the  Burgundian  War  Berne  conceived  the  great  design  of 
restoring  the  old  kingdom  of  Burgundy,  and  in  concert  with  Fri- 
bourg conquered  the  domain  of  Morat,  and  Orbe,  Grandson,  and 
Echallens  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud.  The  attempts  of  Charles  III., 
Duke  of  Savoy,  to  bring  completely  under  his  sway  the  episcopal 
towns  of  Geneva  and  Lausanne  (then  making  strenuous  efforts 
after  liberty),  where  his  house  possessed  certain  rights  of  dominion 
conjointly  with  the  bishops  and  the  civic  communes,  next  induced 
*/.  e.,  recognizing  equality  of  political  rights  between  the  two  confessions. 


ERA    OF    REFORMATION  SfW 

1525-1535 

Lausanne  in  1525  and  Geneva  in  1526  to  conclude  alliances  with 
Fribourg  and  Berne  for  the  protection  of  their  liberties  and  rights. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  two  opposite  factions 
had  existed  in  Geneva:  the  Savoyards  (or  "Mamelukes")  and 
the  "  children  of  Geneva,"  the  latter  under  the  leadership  of  the 
high-minded  Philibert  Berthelier.  Charles  III.  endeavored  to 
crush  his  opponents,  and  in  15 19  caused  Berthelier  to  be  put  to 
death.  But  in  Bezanson  Hugues  the  party  of  Berthelier  found 
another  able  leader,  and  the  civil  alliance  with  Berne  and  Fribourg 
was  the  result  of  his  initiative. 

The  nobles  of  Savoy  made  a  fierce  attack  upon  the  town 
(Loffelbund) ,  and  Bonivard,  the  Genevese  historian,  was  arrested 
in  the  Vaud  and  thrown  into  a  dungeon  of  the  Castle  of  Chillon. 
Geneva  now  tried  to  obtain  complete  freedom,  and  in  1530  suc- 
ceeded, by  the  help  of  the  Confederates;  the  duke  was  forced  to 
promise  to  respect  the  liberties  of  Geneva.  By  this,  the  Peace  of 
St.  Julien,  if  the  peace  were  not  observed,  the  Pays  de  Vaud  was 
to  be  surrendered. 

The  aim  of  the  efforts  of  Berne  was  to  drive  the  house  of 
Savoy  completely  out  of  the  Pays  de  Vaud  and  to  annex  the  latter 
themselves,  for  which  the  Reformation  afforded  them  a  welcome 
expedient.  Under  the  direction  of  Berne  there  came  to  the  Vaud 
William  Farel,  an  ardent  preacher,  who  had  been  exiled  from  his 
home  in  the  south  of  France.  He  traversed  the  country  with  un- 
flagging zeal,  preaching  in  Aigle  (1526),  Morat,  Neuchatel, 
Grandson,  and  Orbe  with  great  success.  The  most  violent  opposi- 
tion did  not  discourage  him;  often  surprised,  beaten,  and  impris- 
oned, he  always  returned  undaunted  to  the  struggle,  and  shrank 
from  no  danger.  Thus  in  1532  he  came  to  Geneva  and  there 
found  a  favorable  soil,  because  the  citizens  were  then  striving  to 
throw  off  all  dependence  upon  the  bishops,  and  had  been  won  over 
to  the  Reformation,  after  the  treaty  of  1526,  by  the  efforts  of 
Berne.  But  while  the  Reformed  party  relied  upon  Berne,  the  sym- 
pathies of  their  opponents  were  with  Savoy  and  the  bishop.  Many 
hostile  encounters  took  place,  and  victory  long  hung  in  the  balance, 
until  Berne  threatened  to  dissolve  the  league  and  the  bishop  tried 
to  take  the  town  by  surprise. 

The  Reformers  gained  the  victory  in  a  disputation;  an  eccle- 
siastical storm  followed,  but  in  1535  the  Reformation  was  estab- 
lished.    Duke  Charles  thereupon  besieging  the  town,  the  Bernese 


448  SWITZERLAND 

1536 

declared  war  upon  him,  advanced  into  the  Vaud  in  January,  1536, 
with  6000  men  under  the  conduct  of  Franz  NageH,  conquered  the 
whole  country  almost  without  striking  a  blow,  as  also  Gex,  Gene- 
vois,  and  Chablais,  and  drove  out  the  troops  of  Savoy.  In  a 
second  expedition  they  happily  succeeded  in  releasing  Bonivard 
from  Chillon.  The  duke  was  obliged  to  yield  the  territories  just 
named  to  Berne. 

The  town  of  Geneva,  however,  owing  her  deliverance  to  the 
Bernese,  bound  herself  to  enter  into  no  alliance  without  the  consent 
of  Berne,  so  that  the  latter  exercised  a  species  of  protective  right. 
Thus  was  the  foundation  laid  of  an  enduring  political  and  intel- 
lectual alliance  between  those  French  territories  and  the  German 
Confederation.  With  the  regulations  introduced  into  the  acquired 
territory  by  Berne,  the  constitution  of  the  Vaud  was  gradually 
swept  away,  bailiffs  were  sent  into  the  country,  and  the  laws  of 
Berne  introduced,  though  with  reservation  of  the  communal  liber- 
ties; the  reformed  teaching  was  disseminated  throughout  by  force, 
and  Catholicism  interdicted.  But  the  greatest  services  rendered 
by  Berne  to  the  Vaud  were  the  erection  of  schools,  the  establishment 
of  a  poor  fund,  and  the  founding  of  the  University  of  Lausanne, 
where  the  famous  theologian,  Peter  Viret,  of  Orbe,  a  colleague  of 
Farel,  and  Theodore  Beza,  a  later  disciple  of  Calvin  in  Geneva, 
taught.  While  the  Pays  de  Vaud  was  being  thus  linked  to  Switz- 
erland an  important  change  was  taking  place  in  Geneva.  The  old 
order  of  things  was  indeed  demolished,  but  everything  was  still  in 
a  state  of  ferment,  and  Farel,  who  was  wanting  in  talent  for  organ- 
ization, was  painfully  perplexed  until  he  finally  found  a  powerful 
supporter  in  Calvin. 

John  Calvin,  born  at  Noyon,  in  Picardy,  in  1509,  and  very 
strictly  brought  up,  at  first  studied  for  the  law,  which  left  a  lasting 
impression  upon  him  in  a  certain  austerity  and  consistency.  The 
Reformed  doctrines  reached  him  in  the  midst  of  his  studies,  and 
won  the  day  after  fierce  inward  struggles ;  the  classics,  to  which  he 
had  for  some  time  devoted  himself,  were  soon  driven  out  by  the 
Bible  and  the  early  Fathers.  But  when  he  openly  proclaimed  his 
faith  he  found  himself  endangered,  and  was  forced  to  fly.  At  Basle 
in  1535  he  wrote  his  famous  confession  of  faith,  the  "  Institutio  Re- 
Hgionis  Christiance,"  in  which  he — a  deep  thinker — put  aside  all 
the  imperfections  and  contradictions  of  the  Lutheran  teaching,  and 
laid  down  a  rigid  system  of  Christian  doctrine    (predestination, 


ERA    OF    REFORMATION  449 

1538-1559 

foreordaining,  or  election).  One  evening  he  arrived,  weary,  at 
Geneva,  intending  to  pass  through  it;  Farel  came  to  him  and 
begged  him  to  remain.  Calvin  refusing,  Farel  menaced  him  with 
the  wrath  of  God  until  Calvin,  much  moved,  promised  to  remain 
(1536)-     He  was  at  once  appointed  chief  preacher. 

He  gave  great  offense,  however,  by  his  violent  and  aribitrary 
proceedings,  by  favoring  the  French,  and  by  departing  too  much 
from  the  doctrines  and  usages  of  German-Swiss  Protestantism, 
which  Berne  had  introduced  into  the  Vaud  and  had  joyfully  ex- 
tended to  Geneva.  When  in  1538  he  and  Farel  refused  to  ad- 
minister the  Lord's  Supper  to  the  "  godless  "  population,  they  were 
both  forced  to  leave  the  town.  Farel  went  to  Neuchatel,  Calvin  to 
Strassburg.  But  after  a  short  time  Calvin's  following  strength- 
ened; and  the  tumults  increasing  and  the  encroachments  of  Berne 
becoming  dangerous,  a  strong,  guiding  hand  was  urgently  desired, 
and  in  1541  Calvin  was  recalled.  Amid  the  violent  struggles  of 
his  opponents,  the  "  Libertines,"  he  founded  a  new  church. 

Geneva,  which  ever  afterward  formed  a  refuge  for  French 
Protestantism,  assumed  an  entirely  new  character  under  Calvin's 
direction.  At  the  head  of  his  ecclesiastical  system  there  stood 
two  lay  "  Elders  "  or  "  Presbyters  "  chosen  from  the  council,  who, 
together  with  the  clergy  of  the  town,  formed  a  moral  tribunal  called 
the  "  Consistorium."  This  exercised  the  strictest  supervision  over 
the  conduct  of  the  whole  community,  both  in  public  and  in  private; 
every  slightest  offense,  every  careless  speech,  even  jests,  were  re- 
ported and  punished.  Every  luxury,  all  amusements  (dancing, 
card-playing,  singing,  and  the  theater),  were  strictly  forbidden. 
The  whole  state  was  to  be  ruled  by  the  church,  as  the  body  by  the 
soul ;  anyone  who  did  not  conform,  or  who  ventured  to  gainsay, 
might  expect  to  be  severely  punished  by  the  council,  or  even  put  to 
death.  Between  1541  and  1546  from  800  to  900  persons  were 
imprisoned,  fifty-eight  put  to  death,  and  Servet,  the  Spaniard,  who 
denied  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  was  burned.  Even  distin- 
guished and  eminent  persons  were  not  exempt.  By  such  severities 
a  system  of  church  polity  was  erected  which  was  most  exemplary 
in  externals,  and  which  was  imitated  in  France,  Scotland,  the 
Netherlands,  and  several  German  states  (the  Palatinate).  Geneva, 
where  Calvin,  in  1559,  founded  the  famous  university,  became  the 
"  Protestant  Rome "  to  which  numerous  strangers  from  France 
found  their  way. 


450  SWITZERLAND 

1559*1564 

These  proceedings,  however,  produced  an  estrangement  be- 
tween Geneva  and  Berne,  for  the  latter  would  fain  have  kept 
Geneva  in  subjection.  But  while  the  political  alliance  between 
Geneva  and  Switzerland  was  being  loosened  a  friendly  union  was 
springing  up  between  the  Calvinistic  and  the  Zwinglian  churches. 
In  1549  Calvin  and  Farel  went  to  Zurich,  and  in  consultation  with 
the  theologians  of  Zurich,  notably  Bullinger,  drew  up  the  "  Com- 
promise of  Zurich  "  (Consensus  Tigurinus) — a  union  of  the  two 
confessions  of  faith.  But  most  of  the  reformed  towns  opposed 
this  amalgamation  of  differing  doctrines;  and  it  was  not  till  after 
Calvin's  death  (which  took  place  in  1564)  that  the  "Helvetic  Con- 
fession," composed  by  Bullinger,  and  freed  from  Calvin's  crudities, 
was  accepted  by  the  states  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Schaffhausen,  St. 
Gall,  the  Grisons,  Bienne,  Miilhausen,  and  Basle. 

After  the  peace  of  15 16  the  Confederation  as  such  assumed 
the  position  of  a  neutral  state ;  it  was  no  longer  necessary,  as  it  had 
been  in  the  fifteenth  century,  to  take  the  field  almost  every  year  for 
the  protection  of  their  own  hearths  and  homes,  and  they  no  longer 
took  any  direct  part  in  the  proceedings  of  other  powers.  Liberty 
was  achieved,  their  territory  assured  and  its  limits  defined,  and  the 
passion  for  war  had  cooled  to  a  great  extent.  They  therefore 
betook  themselves  rather  to  the  occupations  of  peace,  although 
indeed  a  portion  of  the  population  still  took  part  in  foreign  wars. 

This  development  was  essentially  furthered  by  the  Reforma- 
tion, which  sought  to  i)ermeate  every  department  of  life  with  an 
austere  moral  earnestness  as  with  leaven.  Scorning  all  pretenses, 
the  clergy  in  their  sermons  taught  the  means  and  the  way  to  a  truly 
pure  and  honorable  life;  the  authorities  themselves  from  time  to 
time  published  so-called  "moral  mandates"  (Sittenmandate) , 
laid  severe  penalties  upon  all  excess  and  vice,  intemperance,  luxury, 
gambling,  cursing,  and  swearing,  and  kept  a  watchful  eye  upon  the 
manners  of  the  community.  Zurich,  for  instance,  appointed  a 
commission  for  the  inspection  and  punishment  of  all  disorderly  and 
extravagant  households.  Thus  there  were  far  fewer  riotous  out- 
breaks among  the  people  after  the  Reformation  than  before ;  many 
hitherto  customary  excesses  were  discontinued;  clothing  became 
more  decent ;  women  and  girls  sought  to  distinguish  themselves  by 
domestic  virtues.  It  is  evident  that  men  were  thoroughly  in 
earnest  in  their  endeavors  to  improve  their  manner  of  life,  for  the 
slightest  transgression  was  punished  severely  and  even  harshly, 


ERA     OF     REFORMATION  461 

1516-1600 

and  the  most  trivial  faults  and  offenses  of  the  clergy,  censured  by 
the  synods,  were  visited  with  dismissal  and  heavy  penalties.  Many 
a  man  who  had  formerly  led  a  rollicking  life  as  a  mercenary  in 
foreign  lands  hung  his  sword  on  the  wall  and  devoted  himself  to 
business — ^tannery,  the  linen  industry,  trade,  the  silk  industry,  or 
labors  of  a  similar  sort. 

The  industries  particularly  flourished  in  the  cantons  of  Zurich, 
St.  Gall,  and  Appenzell,  where  manufactures  were  carried  on  of 
flax,  hemp,  and  cotton.  The  linen  trade  now  sprang  up  in 
Appenzell,  and  later  manufactures  of  woolen  and  muslin  fabrics. 
In  Zurich  the  silk  industry,  which  had  fallen  completely  into  decay, 
was  revived  by  refugees  from  Locarno;  the  immigrant  families  of 
Muralt  and  Orelli  were  the  founders  of  this  flourishing  industry. 
Frequent  intercourse  with  Italy  and  southern  Germany  furnished 
an  ample  market  for  home  manufactures,  and  these  peaceable  in- 
dustries increased  the  general  prosperity  in  astonishing  fashion;  on 
festive  occasions  almost  every  family,  even  of  the  middle  class, 
could  display  silver  vessels,  embroidered  cloths,  gold  chains,  etc. 
The  outward  appearance  of  the  Swiss  towns  of  that  time  bears 
particularly  certain  evidence  of  the  affluence  then  prevalent.  Mon- 
taigne, the  Frenchman,  considers  them  finer  than  French  towns ;  he 
praises  their  wide  streets,  their  squares  adorned  with  fountains,  the 
fronts  of  the  houses  ornamented  with  frescoes;  the  painted  glass, 
handsome  stoves,  polished  floors,  and  beautiful  wrought  iron  within 
the  houses. 

A  higher  tone  of  thought  and  the  pursuit  of  nobler  ideals 
among  the  middle  classes  were  also  among  the  best  fruits  of  the 
Reformation.  Everywhere  the  sense  of  hospitality  and  benevolence 
was  awakening.  In  various  districts,  as  in  Basle,  Geneva,  and 
Zurich,  French  refugees  and  English  Protestants  found  a  kind 
asylum,  and  the  English  Protestants  in  particular  looked  back  with 
touching  gratitude  upon  the  kindly  care  which  they  had  enjoyed  in 
Zurich.  Zurich  showed  the  same  spirit  toward  the  exiles  from 
Locarno,  whom  she  received  and  provided  with  all  necessaries, 
notwithstanding  a  prevalent  scarcity.  Public  spirit  had  now  found 
a  broader  and  a  nobler  field  of  action,  and  money  that  was  for- 
merly spent  upon  masses,  and  in  providing  images  of  saints  and 
ornaments  for  churches  and  chapels,  was  now  bestowed  upon 
benevolent  institutions,  almshouses,  and  hospitals,  which  were 
founded  or  enriched  by  legacies. 


453  SWITZERLAND 

1516-1600 

The  reorganizing  and  creative  force,  which,  emanating  from 
the  Reformation,  permeated  the  whole  of  political  and  social  life, 
was  perhaps  most  strongly  evident  in  the  sphere  of  popular  educa- 
tion and  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  The  more  peace- 
able disposition  which  had  taken  possession  of  the  popular  mind, 
and  the  increase  of  prosperity,  must  in  themselves  have  assisted  the 
advance  of  mental  culture.  Moreover,  the  Reformation  fought 
chiefly  with  spiritual  weapons,  and  therefore  first  awakened  the 
desire  for  universal  education.  Hence  the  clergy,  particularly 
Bullinger  in  Zurich,  made  it  their  duty  to  give  instruction  in  read- 
ing, writing,  and  Christian  doctrine.  Equal  attention  was  paid  to 
the  training  of  qualified  teachers  and  capable  ministers;  and  this 
was  furthered  by  the  enthusiasm  for  the  revival  of  the  literature  and 
culture  of  antiquity.  A  great  impulse  was  given  to  learning  by  this 
Humanist  movement. 

Formerly  the  youth  of  Switzerland  had  been  almost  always 
sent  to  the  schools  of  other  lands  for  every  higher  branch  of  educa- 
tion; there,  as  Thomas  Platter  relates  of  himself,  they  were  forced 
to  gain  a  scanty  subsistence  by  begging,  to  endure  hunger  and 
thirst,  to  undergo  almost  intolerable  hardships,  and  often  enough 
they  fell  into  bad  company,  so  that  they  not  infrequently  came  very 
near  to  being  miserably  ruined.  Now,  however,  schools  for  higher 
education  sprang  up  on  all  sides  in  Switzerland  itself.  Zwingli 
took  the  lead  in  Zurich  by  the  foundation  of  the  "  Carolinum  " ; 
and  soon  Schaffhausen,  Berne,  Basle  (in  addition  to  the  univer- 
sity), Lausanne,  and  Geneva  erected  schools  for  the  study  of  the 
ancient  classics  and  languages,  called  "  gymnasiums,"  or  "  schools 
of  the  humanities."  Even  small  towns,  such  as  Brugg  and  Stein- 
on-the-Rhine,  did  much  in  this  respect.  Poor  and  talented  youths 
were  supported  by  scholarships,  mostly  derived  from  former  ec- 
clesiastical institutions  and  donations.  At  the  same  time  large 
libraries  were  established  in  Zurich,  St.  Gall,  and  Berne. 

But  these  efforts  for  universal  education  and  the  spread  of 
learning  still  met  with  manifold  hindrances ;  many  a  famous  teacher 
of  those  days  was  forced  to  ply  some  trade  in  addition  to  his  learn- 
ing, as,  for  example,  Thomas  Platter,  who  worked  as  a  ropemaker 
by  day  and  gave  lessons  in  the  evening,  and  was  so  poorly  clothed 
that  any  stranger  visiting  the  school  would  certainly  not  have  taken 
him  for  the  professor.  Notwithstanding  such  miserable  conditions, 
the  thirst  and  craving  for  knowledge  were  indescribably  great;  all 


ERA     OF     REFORMATION  458 

1516-1600 

difficulties  and  pains  counted  for  nought  in  the  effort  to  obtain  the 
treasure  of  learning;  even  an  old  man  of  eighty  learned  Hebrew 
with  Platter.  Many  used  all  imaginable  means  to  curtail  their  rest 
in  order  to  satisfy  their  thirst  for  knowledge. 

As  regards  individual  studies,  the  Reformation  in  the  first 
instance  gave  a  special  impulse  to  theology.  In  Zurich  the  Bible 
was  translated  into  German  by  Leo  Jud  and  Collin,  and  a  French 
translation  appeared  in  Neuchatel.  Everywhere  were  found  men 
ready  to  expound  and  interpret  the  various  books  of  the  Bible  with 
affection,  enthusiasm,  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
The  theological  writings  of  Bullinger  enjoyed  the  highest  esteem, 
not  only  in  Switzerland,  but  even  in  England  and  the  Netherlands ; 
the  foremost  men  in  England,  Germany,  and  France,  even  princes 
and  statesmen,  kept  up  a  lively  correspondence  with  him,  and  em- 
braced his  theological  views.  Theology  in  those  days  was  not  a 
mere  matter  for  clergy  and  men  of  learning,  but  also  for  states- 
men and  even  for  ordinary  men. 

Next  to  the  study  of  theology  that  of  the  Greek  and  Roman 
classics  was  most  cultivated.  These  were  translated  and  explained, 
and  numerous  copies  printed  in  Zurich  and  Basle.  Excellent  edi- 
tions of  the  classics  were  produced  by  Glarean,  Ceporin,  Vadian, 
Konrad  Gessner,  Rellikan,  and  others.  By  its  very  novelty  the 
resuscitation  of  antiquity  possessed  such  a  wonderful  charm  for 
the  world  of  those  days,  and  the  delight  in  it  went  so  far,  that 
Latin  and  Greek  began  once  more  to  be  spoken  in  the  classical 
form  as  the  ancients  spoke  them;  and  even  theatrical  representa- 
tions were  given  in  the  Greek  or  Latin  tongue.  For  instance,  at 
the  New  Year's  festival  of  1531,  a  comedy  of  Aristophanes,  the 
Attic  comedian,  to  which  Collin  had  composed  a  prologue  and 
Zwingli  a  musical  accompaniment,  was  performed  in  the  Greek 
language  at  the  new  school  in  Zurich  by  twelve  men  and  youths — 
some  of  them  noted  men  of  learning  and  professors. 

The  study  of  antiquity  also  bore  fruit  in  other  branches  of 
learning.  From  the  ancient  classics  men  imbibed  a  sense  of  beauty 
and  a  taste  for  thorough  scientific  research;  the  profound  thought 
and  observation  of  the  old  philosophers  and  writers  aroused  fresh 
independent  thought.  This  was  specially  noticeable  in  historical 
writings.  The  hitherto  existing  chronicles  were  already  found  too 
inartistic  and  too  narrow;  all  that  distinguished  the  historians  of 
antiquity  was  wanting  in  them — their  broader  manner  of  viewing 


464  SWITZERLAND 

1516-1600 

things,  their  systematic  arrangement  of  the  whole,  and  their  knowl- 
edge of  manners  and  customs.  Hence,  a  number  of  more  widely 
comprehensive  histories  and  descriptions  of  Switzerland  were  pro- 
duced after  their  pattern.  In  1547  Johannes  Stumpf  published  his 
"  Swiss  Chronicle,"  a  history,  geography,  and  topography  of 
Switzerland,  which  became  a  favorite  book  with  the  people,  and 
was  even  circulated  in  other  lands.  With  similar  industry  and  zeal 
for  research,  Bullinger  in  his  chronicle  wrote  a  history  of  Switzer- 
land with  special  reference  to  Zurich.  His  work,  however,  was  for 
centuries  long  only  circulated  in  manuscript;  as  was  also  the  case 
with  the  Helvetic  chronicle  of  Giles  Tschudi,  of  Glarus,  who  by  the 
help  of  numerous  records  wrote  the  history  of  Switzerland  from 
the  year  1000  to  1470,  and  who,  full  of  patriotic  enthusiasm,  suc- 
ceeded in  delineating  it  so  gracefully  and  so  brilliantly  that  when 
his  chronicle  appeared  in  print  in  1734  it  supplanted  all  other 
descriptions. 

While  Stumpf,  Bullinger,  and  Tschudi  occupied  themselves  in 
narrating  the  various  historical  facts  and  notable  events  as  they 
followed  in  course  of  time,  Josias  Simmler  of  Zurich,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  his  book,  "  Vom  Regiment  der  lohlichen  Eidgenossen- 
schaft"  iS7^>  endeavored  to  represent  the  internal  development  of 
Switzerland  in  respect  to  its  constitutional  and  political  conditions ; 
even  in  the  sixteenth  century  his  book  was  translated  into  many 
languages,  and  passed  through  quite  a  number  of  editions.  This 
development  of  the  art  of  history  gives  unmistakable  evidence  of 
the  awakening  of  patriotic  enthusiasm  and  national  feeling,  which 
also  manifests  itself  in  the  fine  paintings  on  glass,  wood  carvings, 
and  tiled  stoves  of  this  period,  for  which  by  preference  scenes  from 
the  history  of  the  fatherland  were  selected,  such  as  the  battles  of 
Morgarten  and  Sempach,  and  the  story  of  William  Tell. 

From  this  time  geography  and  the  physical  sciences  were  cul- 
tivated almost  like  entirely  new  sciences.  The  ancient  classics  had 
also  aroused  sense  and  interest  for  the  contemplation  and  observa- 
tion of  Nature.  Men  like  Rellikan,  Vadian,  and  Konrad  Gessner 
began  to  scale  the  heights  of  the  Lower  Alps,  to  admire  and  extol 
their  beauties,  and  to  describe  the  vegetable  and  animal  species  found 
there.  Simmler  devotes  a  separate  volume  to  a  description  of 
Valais,  while  Stumpf  gives  the  preference  in  his  chronicle  to  the 
customs  of  the  Alpine  folk.  Men  saw  at  length  the  inadequateness 
of  the  methods  hitherto  pursued  in  the  interpretation  of  Nature, 


ERAOF    REFORMATION  456 

1516-1600 

according"  to  which  absolute  reliance  had  been  placed  on  traditional 
opinions,  and  now  new  paths  were  opened  by  independent  research. 
Thus  Paracelsus  of  Einsiedeln,  about  1530,  zealously  opposed  the 
prescriptions  and  theory  of  medicine  handed  down  by  tradition, 
and  would  learn  only  in  the  great  school  of  Nature. 

The  greatest  celebrity  as  a  naturalist,  however,  was  attained 
by  Konrad  Gessner,  of  Zurich  (ob.  1565).  In  spite  of  poverty  and 
ill-health,  he  raised  himself  by  incredible  exertions  to  the  rank  of 
one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his  time.  But  it  was  after  study- 
ing and  comparing  all  earlier  works  on  natural  science  that  he  first 
really  noticed  the  great  gaps  in  the  then  existing  knowledge,  and 
extended  his  own  attainments  by  travel,  and  by  getting  his  friends 
in  other  lands  of  Europe  to  send  him  pictures  and  descriptions  of 
plants  and  animals  he  was  the  first  to  try  to  classify  them  from  a 
scientific  standpoint.  Famous  men  from  every  part  of  Europe 
hastened  to  visit  him,  but  he  remained  unshaken  in  his  modesty^ 
and  simplicity. 

Of  the  arts,  special  progress  was  made  during  the  latter  part' 
of  the  century  in  painting  on  glass,  in  which  Swiss  artists  earned 
a  reputation  which  stretched  far  beyond  their  own  borders.' 
Their  work  excelled  in  power,  lucidity,  and  warmth  of  color, 
in  delicate  and  fine  execution.  Equally  delicate  and  masterly  are 
other  works  of  Swiss  artists  in  sculpture  and  wood  carving,  as  well 
as  the  stoves  of  this  period.  And  in  architecture  the  Renaissance 
style  now  attained  to  brilliant  development,  as  the  Town  Hall  at 
Lucerne  and  the  house  in  Berne  in  the  Kirchgasse,  bore  witness. 

Great,  however,  as  were  the  changes  which  were  taking  place 
in  every  sphere  of  life,  a  total  transformation  could  not  so  rapidly 
be  effected ;  contrasting  with  the  light  many  shadows  were  visible, 
unlovely  heirlooms  of  an  earlier  barbarism,  forming  so  many 
obstacles  to  progfress.  Thus  the  Reformation  could  not  put  an  end 
to  the  general  and  widespread  superstition,  or  at  once  do  away 
with  the  prevalent  barbarity  of  the  age.  Even  educated  people 
believed  in  ghosts  and  all  sorts  of  witchcraft;  the  authorities  ac- 
tually caused  numberless  persons  in  Zurich,  Lucerne,  and  Berne, 
accused  of  witchcraft  or  of  repudiating  the  faith  of  the  church,  to 
be  tortured  in  most  horrible  fashion,  such  as  having  their  tongues 
slit  or  being  tormented  with  hot  irons,  and  many  were  put  to  death, 
quartered,  racked,  burned,  or  drowned.  Whippings,  the  rack,  tor- 
tures, and  inhuman  executions  were  among  the  customary  sentences. 


456  SWITZERLAND 

1516-1600 

Such  barbarity  and  superstition  hindered  moral  and  poHtical  prog- 
ress, education,  and  humanity  quite  as  much  as  the  mercenary 
system  and  foreign  service,  which  still  continued  in  the  Catholic, 
and  in  several  of  the  Reformed  cantons. 

The  Catholic  reaction,  which  in  Switzerland  followed  the 
battle  of  Kappel,  was,  as  it  were,  a  prelude  to  the  European 
counter-reformation  which  occupied  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  It  seemed  as  though  a  new  generation  had  arisen;  the 
noble  and  conciliatory  spirits  of  such  men  as  Aebli,  Colder,  Wengi, 
and  others  had  vanished,  and  mutual  intolerance  increased  into  the 
utmost  violence. 

Berne  was  the  first  to  adopt  the  principle — "  To  whom  the 
territory  belongs,  let  theirs  be  the  religion**  (wessen  die  Gegend, 
dessen  die  Religion) — ^by  depriving  the  harmless  folk  of  the  newly 
conquered  valley  of  the  Saane  of  their  Catholic  religion,  and  even 
of  their  pleasures  and  popular  festivals,  in  1555.  A  companion 
picture  was  formed  in  the  same  year  by  events  in  the  Italian  baili- 
wicks. The  seed  of  the  Reformation  had  been  carried  to  Locarno 
by  Reformed  bailiffs  from  Zurich  and  Glarus,  and  had  there  found 
fruitful  soil;  and  Beccaria,  a  zealous  preacher,  soon  stood  at  the 
head  of  a  considerable  congregation.  The  five  states,  however, 
would  not  suffer  this,  and  passed  a  resolution  at  the  Diet  which 
left  no  alternative  to  the  Protestants  of  those  parts  but  a  return  to 
Catholicism  or  banishment.  The  perplexed  people  steadfastly  re- 
fused to  recant,  willing  to  sacrifice  their  all  for  their  faith ;  accord- 
ingly in  midwinter  more  than  one  hundred  persons  crossed  the 
snow-clad  Alps,  and  found  a  welcome  in  hospitable  Zurich,  and  a 
new  home  there  and  in  Basle  (March,  1555).  Great  services  were 
afterward  rendered  by  the  families  of  Muralt  and  Orelli. 

On  this  occasion  the  Papal  Legate  and  the  Roman  Inquisition 
were  already  active;  thenceforth  the  Catholic  states  became  more 
and  more  closely  connected  with  the  papal  policy.  Thus  they  took 
part  in  the  reform  of  Catholicism  carried  out  by  the  Pope  and  the 
Jesuits  at  the  Council  of  Trent  (1545  to  1563),  which  widened  the 
breach  between  Catholicism  and  Protestantism.  Moreover,  with- 
out regard  to  their  fellow-confederates,  they  associated  themselves 
with  the  most  intolerant  of  the  Catholic  powers.  In  1565  they 
allied  themselves  to  Pope  Pius  IV.,  who  promised  them  aid  in  mat- 
ters of  faith,  made  like  connections  with  Spain  and  Savoy,  and 
took  counsel  as  to  ways  and  means  of  exterminating  the  new  faith 


ERA    OF    REFORMATION  457 

by  force.  The  foreigners  increased  their  zeal  by  secret  agitation 
and  by  granting  them  great  privileges. 

Carlo  Borromeo  in  particular,  the  Archbishop  of  Milan,  who 
had  carried  on  a  counter-reformation  in  his  own  territory  with 
rigor,  selected  Switzerland  as  the  chief  field  of  his  activity.  He 
introduced  the  counter-reformation  into  Misocco,  tried  to  win  over 
the  Catholic  states  by  his  efforts  for  the  erection  of  a  Catholic 
theological  seminary,  and  hoped  in  return  to  introduce  the  Inqui- 
sition and  the  Jesuits  into  Switzerland.  His  restless  endeavors, 
however,  went  too  far  even  for  the  Catholics,  and  the  clergy  com- 
plained of  the  innovations  and  encroachments  of  Carlo  Borromeo. 
The  states  next  requested  the  Pope  to  send  his  nuncio  to  set  in 
order  the  affairs  of  the  church.  In  1580,  therefore,  Buonhomo, 
the  first  pai>al  nuncio,  appeared  in  Switzerland,  and  established 
himself  in  Lucerne.  Borromeo,  however,  pursued  his  aim  with 
untiring  energy.  He  started  upon  his  journey,  traversed  Ticino, 
the  Val  Blegno,  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Rhine,  and  the  inner 
states ;  he  was  everywhere  received  by  the  people  with  enthusiasm, 
and  everywhere  encouraged  them  for  the  coming  religious  strug- 
gle, while  everywhere  vigorously  combating  all  moral  and  eccle- 
siastical abuses.  The  nuncio  was  equally  active;  upon  his  tour  he 
was  not  only  attacked  by  the  Reformed  states  and  accused  of  in- 
citing others  against  them,  but  even  from  several  of  the  Catholic 
states,  Fribourg  and  Valais,  obtained  no  recognition,  as  they  feared 
any  encroachments  upon  their  liberties.  The  clergy  petitioned 
against  such  a  foreign  visitation,  finding  that  he  punished  all  faults 
and  omissions  with  severity,  and  at  length  it  became  necessary  to  re- 
call him.  Meanwhile,  however,  through  the  influence  of  Bor- 
romeo and  the  leaders  of  the  Catholic  party,  among"  them  Melchior 
Lussi  of  Stans,  and  Ludwig  Pfyffer  of  Lucerne,  formidable  religious 
combatants  were  introduced  into  Switzerland.  These  were  the 
Jesuits,  who  arrived  in  Lucerne  in  1574  and  in  Fribourg  in  1581, 
and  the  Capuchins,  who  established  themselves  in  Altdorf  in  1581, 
Stans  in  1582,  and  Appenzell  in  1588.  While  the  Jesuits  were  work- 
ing systematically  in  schools  and  in  the  houses  of  the  upper  classes, 
the  barefooted  Capuchins,  with  their  coarse  cowls,  became  the  dar- 
lings of  the  populace,  laboring  in  the  hovels  of  the  common  people. 

Thus  did  the  breach  between  the  two  parties  grow  ever  wider. 
In  1579  the  Catholic  states  concluded  a  league  with  the  Bishop  of 
Basle,  who  was  eagerly  carrying  on  the  counter-reformation.    This 


458  SWITZERLAND 

1516-1600 

annoyed  the  Reformed  party,  who  were  just  then  zealously  support- 
ing the  town  of  Geneva  in  a  struggle  against  Savoy,  and  were 
assisting  Henry  of  Navarre  and  the  Huguenot  party  in  France, 
while  the  Catholic  states  took  the  part  of  Savoy  and  of  the  French 
Catholics.  Men's  minds  were  still  further  inflamed  by  the  dispute 
about  the  calendar,  which  began  in  1 582.  A  religious  civil  war  had 
very  nearly  broken  out.  On  October  5,  1 586,  the  Catholic  states  of 
Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Lucerne,  Zug,  Fribourg,  and  Soleure 
entered  into  a  separate  offensive  and  defensive  alliance,  known  as 
the  Borromean  or  Golden  League,^  for  the  defense  and  maintenance 
of  the  Catholic  religion.  This  was  a  skillfully  laid  scheme  of 
Ludwig  Pfyffer's.  The  states  at  the  same  time  concluded  an  al- 
liance with  the  new  Pope,  Sixtus  V.,  and  in  1587  also  with  Philip 
IL,  of  Spain,  the  great  foe  of  heresy. 

Thus  from  the  time  of  the  Council  of  Trent  the  Catholic 
states  had  become  more  and  more  estranged  from  their  fellow- 
confederates.  By  this  means  the  Confederation  had  been  split  into 
two  camps,  from  whom  it  was  useless  to  expect  any  united  and  con- 
certed action;  on  the  contrary,  the  states  constantly  opposed  one 
another,  either  openly  or  in  secret.  This  is  already  evident  in  the 
period  between  the  Council  of  Trent  and  the  Borromean  League; 
not  only  did  the  Catholic  states  attempt  a  counter-reformation  in 
all  directions,  but  they  specially  resisted  the  accession  of  new  mem- 
bers to  the  league  who  professed  the  principles  of  the  Reformation. 

Supported  by  the  Catholic  states,  the  Bishop  of  Basle,  who  had 
been  forced  to  fly  to  Porrentruy,  endeavored  to  obtain  his  restora- 
tion, and  reintroduced  Catholic  worship  in  Laufen  by  force.  In 
Valais,  where  as  early  as  1 551  the  Reformed  party  had  grown  so 
strong  that  universal  tolerance  and  equality  of  rights  had  been 
decreed,  the  Catholic  states  effected  the  revocation  of  this  de- 
cision, and  a  partial  restoration  of  Catholic  worship;  and  when 
about  the  end  of  the  century  the  Jesuits  made  their  appearance  here 
too,  the  Protestants  were  openly  persecuted  and  driven  into  exile. 

With  the  help  of  the  Catholic  states,  Philibert  Emmanuel,  Duke 
of  Savoy,  in  1564  obtained  the  restitution  of  the  districts  of  Cha- 
blais,  Genevois,  and  Gex,  conquered  by  Berne  in  1536,  and  gradu- 
ally converted  to  the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  where  he  caused 
the  Catholic  worship  to  be  restored  by  the  Jesuit  Francis  de  Sales. 

"  So  called  in  memory  of  Borromeo,  who  died  in  1584,  and  because  the 
initial  letters  of  the  treaty  were  illuminated  in  gold. 


ERA    OF    REFORMATION  459 

1516-1600 

Attempts  were  also  made  to  alienate  the  Vaud  from  the  Bernese, 
but  the  latter  succeeded  in  retaining  it;  they  engaged  to  maintain 
all  the  liberties  of  the  Vaud,  and  the  peace  thereupon  concluded 
was  guaranteed  by  France  in  1565.  In  return,  Charles  Emmanuel 
of  Savoy  (from  1580)  several  times  attempted  to  repossess  him- 
self of  Geneva,  and  to  establish  the  episcopal  authority  there,  in 
which  attempts  he  had  the  Catholic  states,  the  Pope,  and  Spain  on 
his  side.  The  solicitations  of  Geneva  to  be  received  into  the  Swiss 
League  were  frustrated  by  the  dissensions  between  the  Federal 
States  themselves.  In  1602,  after  several  unsuccessful  attempts 
upon  Geneva,  the  duke  resolved  to  carry  it  by  surprise,  and  placed 
an  army  before  the  town  by  night.  A  number  of  soldiers  had 
already  mounted  the  walls  unnoticed  by  means  of  blackened  lad- 
ders, when  a  shot  awakened  the  citizens,  and  the  Savoyards  were 
once  more  repulsed.  This  was  the  so-called  "  Escalade  "  of  Decem- 
ber 21  and  22.  Charles  Emmanuel  was  once  more  forced  to  ac- 
knowledge the  independence  of  Geneva. 

The  efforts  of  the  Catholics  in  the  Grisons  were  equally  far 
from  attaining  their  object.  The  religious  factions  here  also  par- 
took of  a  political  nature,  for  France  and  Austria  alternately  solicited 
their  alliance.  Under  the  Plantas,  the  Austrian  party,  which  was 
laboring  by  command  of  the  Pope  for  the  restoration  of  Catholicism, 
suffered  its  first  defeat  in  1565  at  the  hands  of  the  French  faction 
under  the  Salis.  From  that  time  for  centuries  long  the  two 
parties  opposed  one  another  with  the  utmost  ferocity  and  cruelty; 
whichever  party  was  victorious  would  pass  judgment  for  the  ban- 
ishment and  persecution  of  its  opponents.  This  could  only  occur 
in  a  country  where,  as  in  Rhaetia,  the  judisdiction  was  under  the 
management  of  the  communes  (Hochgerichte).  The  Catholic 
states  sympathizing  with  the  Catholic  factions,  the  request  of  the 
influential  Protestant  League  of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions,®  in  1567,  to 
be  received  into  the  Confederation  was  denied. 

Strassburg  was  also  among  the  places  which  desired  to  be 
received  into  the  Federal  League.  But  the  Catholic  members  re- 
fused this,  upon  which  the  Reformed  states  concluded  a  separate 
league  with  that  town  in  1588,  after  a  number  of  young  men  from 

•  The  Grisons  (or  Graubunden)  comprised  three  leagues,  the  Gray  League 
{Grauerbund  or  Ligue  Grise),  the  League  of  God's  House  (Gotteshausbund, 
Ligue  de  la  Maison  Dieu  or  Caddea),  and  the  League  of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions 
{Zehngerichtenbund  or  Ligue  des  dix  Droitures). 


460  SWITZERLAND 

1516-1600 

Zurich  had  given  proof  that  Strassburg  did  not  lie  too  far  from  the 
Confederation,  by  one  day  taking  a  boat  down  the  Limmat,  the 
Aar,  and  the  Rhine  containing  an  enormous  kettle  full  of  hot 
lentils,  which  was  still  warm  when  they  reached  Strassburg 
(Hirsbreifahrt) . 

But  not  only  were  no  new  members  received  into  the  league 
on  account  of  the  breach  in  the  Confederation,  for  even  old  members 
were  abandoned.  As  early  as  1548  Constance  was  taken  by  storm 
by  the  Austrians  in  the  war  of  Schmalcalden,  and  thus  cut  off  not 
only  from  the  Federal  League,  but  even  from  the  Reformation 
itself.  And  in  1586  the  Catholic  states  even  ejected  Protestant 
Miilhausen  from  the  league. 

At  length  the  secession  of  the  canton  of  Appenzell  followed 
as  an  evil  effect  of  this  party  system.  The  majority  in  Outer 
Rhodes  had  inclined  to  the  Reformation,  while  Inner  Rhodes  re- 
mained true  to  the  old  faith,  and  adhered  to  the  seven  states.  On 
various  occasions,  such  as  the  dispute  about  the  calendar,  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Capuchins,  and  the  conclusion  of  the  Spanish  al- 
liance, violent  conflicts  arose ;  and  in  order  to  avoid  a  civil  war  the 
Diet  at  last  found  themselves  forced  to  arrange  a  separation 
in  1597.  The  Protestants  of  Inner  Rhodes  were  driven  into  Outer 
Rhodes,  and  vice  versa,  and  the  land  held  in  common  was  divided. 
But  in  Federal  affairs  the  two  halves  of  the  canton  were  reckoned 
as  having  each  only  half  a  vote.  In  the  year  i6oo  Inner  Rhodes 
joined  the  Spanish  and  Borromean  Leagues. 

Thus  during  the  period  succeeding  the  Council  of  Trent  the 
attitude  of  the  Confederation  toward  the  outer  world  was  that  of 
a  double  state  with  conflicting  halves,  and  moreover  the  Catholic 
states  at  the  instigation  of  Lucerne  and  of  Ludwig  Pfyffer,  her 
great  politician  (the  "Swiss  King"),  rendered  effectual  aid  to 
France  in  her  wars  against  the  Hugnenots.  Whole  hosts  of  sol- 
diers poured  from  the  inner  cantons  into  France,  and  helped  to 
gain  the  victories  of  Dreux  in  1562,  St.  Denis,  Jarnac,  etc.;  and  as 
the  Protestants  supported  the  Huguenots  a  civil  war  had  almost 
ensued  among  the  Swiss  in  France.  The  situation  was  only  al- 
tered by  the  accession  of  Henry  IV.  One  part  of  the  Catholics 
then  fought  for  Spain,  another  part  inclined  to  Henry,  who  was 
allied  to  the  Protestants;  when  in  1593  Henry  formally  embraced 
Catholicism  at  St.  Denis  he  was  joined  by  the  once  hostile  Catholic 
states,  and  peace  was  for  a  time  secured  within  the  Confederation. 


J 


Chapter  VIII 

RELIGIOUS   WARS   AND   THE   ARISTOCRATIC 
CONSTITUTIONS.    1600-1712 

A  FTER  the  division  of  the  Confederation  into  two  camps,  and 
L\  more  especially  after  the  year  1526,  the  periodical  con- 
jL  jL.  firmation  of  the  old  leagues  by  oath — prescribed  in  the 
Federal  charters — was  totally  neglected,  and  special  Diets  were 
frequently  held  by  both  Catholic  and  Reformed  states  to  advise 
upon  their  affairs,  while  general  Diets  became  more  and  more  rare, 
and  lost  all  significance.  At  the  same  time  the  relations  between 
the  factions  continued  to  be  very  strained — a  condition  of  things 
which  was  purposely  aggravated  by  the  Jesuits,  the  Capuchins,  and 
the  Catholic  powers.  Disputes  were  rife  about  the  common  do- 
mains and  the  subject-lands  which  belonged  to  both  Catholic  and 
Reformed  states  alike,  as,  for  instance,  between  Glarus  and  Schwyz 
about  Utznach,  Berne  and  Fribourg  about  the  Vaud,  Zurich  and 
the  five  states  about  the  Thurgau.  Meanwhile  the  antagonism 
between  France  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Austrian  Hapsburgs  to- 
gether with  Spain  on  the  other  hand  had  a  decisive  influence  upon 
the  internal  and  external  relations  of  Switzerland.  In  the  struggle 
for  European  supremacy  these  powers  contended  with  one  another 
for  the  favor  of  Switzerland.  France  triumphed  at  first.  In  1602 
Henry  IV.  concluded  an  alliance  with  the  twelve  states,  which  was 
also  joined  by  Zurich  in  1614,  Zwingli's  principles  being  aban- 
doned. The  opponents  of  France  now  did  their  utmost.  The 
Count  of  Fuentes,  the  Spanish  governor  of  Milan,  distributed 
money  with  a  free  hand,  and  effected  a  renewal  of  the  alliance  with 
the  Catholic  states  in  1604.  At  the  entrance  to  the  Valtelline  he 
built  the  gigantic  fortress  which  bore  his  name  ("Fort  Fuentes  ") 
and  endeavored  to  attach  the  leagues  of  the  Orisons  to  himself. 
But  the  Alpine  passes  forming  a  passage  from  Milan  through  the 
Valtelline  to  the  Tyrol  were  only  opened  to  the  enemies  of  France 
by  the  death  of  Henry  IV.  in  16 10.  The  Spanish  and  Austrian 
party  in  Rhaetia,  under  the  leadership  of  Rudolf  Planta,  triumphed 

461 


463  SWITZERLAND 

1618-1620 

over  their  opponents,  the  adherents  of  France  and  Venice.  A 
revolt  against  the  Plantas  next  broke  out,  headed  by  George 
Jenatsch,  a  minister  of  the  Reformed  church,  and  by  a  decree  of 
1618  the  Planta  family  and  their  adherents  were  banished  to 
Thusis.  A  tumultuous  reign  of  terror  ensued,  during  which  the 
Planta  faction  was  supported  by  the  Catholic,  and  their  opponents 
by  the  Reformed  states  of  the  Confederation. 

So  matters  stood  when  the  Thirty  Years'  War  broke  out  in 
Germany.  The  religious  schism  in  the  empire  fostered  afresh  the 
factions  in  Switzerland.  The  Reformed  states,  it  is  true,  notably 
Zurich,  resolved  to  take  no  active  part  in  the  struggle,  nor  even  to 
support  their  fellow-Protestants,  in  order  that  they  might  not 
exasperate  the  Catholic  states  and  possibly  kindle  a  civil  war,  for 
which  reason  they  also  declined  to  make  any  league  with  the  Ger- 
man Protestant  Union.  The  Catholic  states  shared  their  desire  of 
not  meddling  with  that  fatal  war,  and  in  order  to  preserve  Switzer- 
land from  forming  a  battlefield  for  the  combatants,  merdy  wished 
to  defend  the  frontiers.  Hence  the  system  of  neutrality  was  for 
the  first  time  adopted  as  a  principle,  though  it  had  practically  been 
in  operation  since  15 16,  inasmuch  as  the  Confederation  had  not 
since  then  interfered  in  any  foreign  war  as  an  independent  party. 
From  the  commencement,  however,  these  good  intentions  were 
only  half  carried  out;  for  it  would  frequently  happen  that  some- 
times one  party,  sometimes  the  other,  would  favor  the  powers  and 
the  troops  holding  their  own  views,  especially  as  the  central  position 
of  the  Confederation  made  each  of  the  belligerent  powers  anxious 
to  engage  its  interest,  and  to  claim  the  advantages  of  free  passage 
and  levies  of  mercenaries. 

These  circumstances  so  paralyzed  Switzerland  that  she  was 
unable  to  fulfill  her  duties  to  her  own  fellow-confederates  or  to 
preserve  her  neutrality  as  was  fitting.  This  is  specially  evident  in 
the  affairs  of  the  Grisons,  that  state  becoming  in  a  most  lamentable 
way  the  puppet  of  the  combatants.  During  the  passionate  strug- 
gles between  the  two  religious  and  political  factions,  after  the 
decree  of  Thusis,  a  terrible  reaction  set  in  against  the  arbitrary 
rule  of  the  Reformers,  which  had  its  origin  in  the  Valtelline,  the 
subject-land  of  the  Grisons  Leagues.  A  relative  of  the  Plantas, 
named  Robustelli,  who  was  in  collusion  with  the  Catholic  powers, 
fell  upon  this  valley  with  bands  of  the  lowest  assassins,  and  in 
the  massacre  of  the  Valtelline,  July,  1620,  slaughtered  five  hundred 


RELIGIOUS    WARS  jl69 

1620-1639 

Protestant  Grisons.  The  Valtelline,  Bormio,  and  the  Miinsterthal 
were  now  acquired  by  the  Spaniards  and  Austrians  with  but  little 
trouble.  In  spite  of  the  attempts  of  the  Catholic  states  to  block 
their  passage,  Zurich  and  Berne  sent  troops  to  the  help  of  the 
Grisons,  but  they  were  defeated  at  Tirano.  Mercenaries  from  the 
five  states,  under  Beroldingen  of  Uri,  marched  to  the  help  of  their 
coreligionists.  Now  ensued  the  most  frightful  party  struggle,  ac- 
companied by  outbreaks  of  blind  fury,  rapine,  fire,  and  sword. 
Pompey  Planta,  the  brother  of  Rudolf,  was  attacked  and  slain  in 
1 62 1  by  the  Protestants  in  the  Engadine,  under  the  conduct  of 
Pastor  George  Jenatsch.  The  troops  of  the  five  states  and  of  the 
Spaniards  were  repulsed.  But  the  very  same  year  the  tide  turned : 
the  Spaniards  and  Austrians  made  a  fresh  invasion;  Jenatsch  was 
obliged  to  fly,  and  now  became  a  soldier.  Once  more  the  Austrians 
were  driven  out,  and  once  more  they  returned;  and  in  1629,  the 
year  when  the  power  of  the  emperor  was  at  its  height,  an  imperial 
army  marched  upon  Coire  (Chur)  and  conquered  the  leagues  for 
the  third  time,  while  the  Confederates  left  that  land  completely  in 
the  lurch. 

France  next  endeavored  to  interpose  and  to  undermine  the 
Austrian  power  in  the  Grisons.  By  the  command  of  Richelieu,  the 
Due  de  Rohan,  the  former  leader  of  the  Huguenots,  appeared  with 
an  army,  and  in  1635,  with  the  help  of  Jenatsch,  who  had  returned 
and  taken  the  command,  defeated  the  Austrians  and  Spaniards. 
But  when  France  refused  to  accede  to  the  requests  of  the  leagues, 
that  their  subject-lands  should  be  preserved  to  them  unimpaired  as 
formerly,  the  mood  of  the  Grisons  changed;  Jenatsch  deserted  the 
French  and  went  over  to  the  Spanish  party,  raised  a  revolt  against 
the  French,  and  in  1637  drove  them  completely  out  of  the  country. 

The  strife  of  parties  raged  for  some  years  longer.  Rudolf 
Planta,  a  son  of  the  murdered  Pompey,  next  arrived  in  the  land  in 
1639  and  attacked  and  killed  George  Jenatsch  at  a  festival,  with 
the  assistance  of  disguised  accomplices.  Tranquillity  was  grad- 
ually restored,  and  in  1639  a  perpetual  peace  was  concluded  with 
Spain.  The  Valtelline  was  restored  to  the  leagues,  but  on  terms 
favorable  to  the  Catholic  religion;  and  Spain  might  now  send 
bodies  of  troops  unhindered  over  the  passes  of  the  Grisons.  Aus- 
tria, with  whom  peace  was  likewise  concluded,  consented  to  sell 
her  rights  over  the  Ten  Jurisdictions  and  the  Lower  Engadine. 
It  was,  however,  primarily  due  to  the  divisions  among  the  Con- 


464.  SWITZERLAND 

1623-1647 

federates  that  the  three  leagues  thus  became  the  puppets  of  foreign 
powers. 

The  northern  frontiers  fared  hardly  any  better  as  regarded 
protection  than  those  of  the  southeast.  While  the  five  states 
granted  frequent  passage  to  Spanish  troops,  Zurich  favored  those 
of  Sweden,  and  this  opposition  often  led  to  unpleasant  collisions. 
On  one  occasion  Bernese  troops  hastening  to  the  relief  of  their 
fellow-confederates  of  Miilhausen,  then  hard  pressed,  were  over- 
taken in  the  Klus,  near  Balsthal,  by  peasants  of  Soleure,  and  many 
of  them  slain  (1632).  A  civil  war  was  nearly  breaking  out  in 
Switzerland.  When  in  the  following  year  the  Swedish  General 
Horn  marched  past  Stein  (Canton  Zurich),  and  through  the 
Thurgau  to  Constance,  the  five  states  took  Kilian  Kesselring,  the 
Protestant  governor  of  the  Thurgau,  prisoner,  thinking  that  he  had 
summoned  the  Swedes  into  the  country,  and  that  Zurich,  of  which 
Kesselring  was  a  citizen,  was  in  collusion  with  Horn.  Kesselring 
was  long  kept  a  prisoner,  and  it  was  not  until  the  Protestants 
threatened  to  prepare  for  war  that  he  was  released  for  a  high 
ransom.  The  five  states  also  renewed  their  league  with  Spain, 
which  caused  Berne  and  Zurich  to  consider  the  advisability  of  a 
formal  alliance  with  Sweden,  whose  ruin  they  considered  would 
be  their  own. 

Basle  occupied  a  specially  difficult  position,  being  most 
exposed  to  the  enemy,  and  was  only  able  to  preserve  her  neutrality 
with  great  difficulty,  since  she  was  totally  forsaken  by  the  other 
states;  her  frontiers  were  violated  in  1624  by  Tilly's  troops,  and 
in  1636  Bernhard  of  Weimar  crossed  the  territory  of  Basle  into  the 
Fricktal.  Schaffhausen  and  Miilhausen  were  in  similar  situations, 
so  that  they  likewise  were  often  in  great  danger;  and  finally,  in 
1632,  Rotwil,  one  of  the  allied  states,  was  totally  abandoned  by  the 
Protestants  because  it  had  taken  part  with  Austria,  and  assisted 
the  five  states. 

Thus  the  weakness  of  the  Confederation  became  everywhere 
apparent,  and  yet  this  war  might  so  well  have  led  them  to  greater 
unity;  for  in  moments  of  most  serious  danger  (as  for  instance  in 
1636,  when  Basle  and  Soleure  were  threatened  by  Bernhard,  Duke 
of  Weimar,  and  in  1647  when  Wrangel  and  Turenne  approached 
the  Swiss  frontier)  they  recognized  that  unity  alone  could  save 
them,  and  that  they  must  for  their  own  security  make  common 
cause  to  keep  all  foreign  armies  at  a  distance  from  Swiss  soil. 


RELIGIOUS    WARS  465 

1647-1648 

Hence  in  the  course  of  the  war  a  scheme  was  several  times  devised 
for  a  joint  military  system  of  land  defense  (Defensionale),  which 
was  at  length  formally  drawn  up  in  1647.  But  in  1648  the  much- 
desired  peace  was  concluded  in  Miinster  and  Osnabruck. 

When  the  question  arose  as  to  the  representation  of  the  Con- 
federation at  Munster,  and  the  maintenance  of  Swiss  interests, 
their  lack  of  unity  seemed  likely  to  ruin  everything.  Notwith- 
standing the  Peace  of  Basle  of  1499,  ^"  ^^e  latter  times  inhabitants 
of  Mulhausen  and  Basle  had  repeatedly  been  harassed  and  sued  by 
the  court  of  the  Imperial  Chamber;  Basle  therefore  endeavored  to 
induce  the  rest  of  the  states  to  send  a  joint  Federal  deputation  to 
Munster,  which  should  procure  the  unconditional  release  of  all 
Confederate  citizens  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Imperial  Chamber. 
But  the  Catholic  states  would  take  no  part,  and  it  was  only  at  the 
instigation  of  the  Reformed  states  that  Rudolf  Wettstein,  the  gal- 
lant burgomaster  of  Basle,  conducted  the  negotiations  at  the  Peace 
Congress.  By  his  ability  and  the  activity  of  his  single-minded 
patriotism,  and  no  less  by  the  efforts  of  other  eminent  Confederates 
with  foreign  powers,  of  whom  Major  General  Hans  Ludwig  von 
Erlach,  Zwier  von  Evibach,  Landammann  of  Uri,  may  be  noted, 
and  by  the  cooperation  of  the  imperial  ambassador,  it  came  to  pass 
that  in  the  "  Peace  of  Westphalia  *'  the  formal  declaration  of  the 
total  separation  of  Switzerland  from  the  German  empire  was 
published. 

In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  when  the  Confed- 
erate States  were  forming  their  leagues,  the  inhabitants  of  every 
town  or  of  every  state  enjoyed,  generally  speaking,  equal  rights. 
The  freedom  of  a  city  might  be  acquired  without  payment,  or  for  a 
small  sum,  and  the  road  to  office  and  dignity  was  open  to  all.  In 
the  seventeenth  century  it  was  quite  otherwise.  In  all  parts  there 
arose  a  small  class  within  each  community  who  gradually  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  exclusive  possession  of  the  rights  of  govern- 
ment, and  becoming  the  sole  bearers  of  political  power.  As  early 
as  the  sixteenth  century  this  phase  had  commenced.  It  had  its 
origin  in  the  fact  that  as  the  population  increased,  both  in  the  towns 
and  in  the  several  villages,  the  original  citizens  and  residents  held 
more  and  more  aloof  from  the  mere  tenants  or  copyholders,  fixed  a 
certain  sum  for  the  purchase  of  citizenship  (formerly  gratuitously 
bestowed),  raised  this  sum  increasingly,  and  tried  in  every  way  to 
hinder  the  admission  of  strangers.      At  the  same  time  in  many 


466  SWITZERLAND 

1600-1627 

places  the  distribution  of  pensions  paid  to  the  citizens  of  individual 
states  by  foreign  powers  contributed  greatly  to  limit  the  number 
of  the  "  citizens,"  of  participators.  In  this  way  the  influence 
of  individual  families  who  had  attained  riches  and  eminence  by 
means  of  trade  and  manufactures,  or  by  pensions  and  mercenary 
service,  made  itself  increasingly  felt,  and  such  families  by  various 
means  converted  their  offices  into  hereditary  successions,  and  pos- 
sessed themselves  exclusively  of  the  government. 

The  right  of  the  governing  body  to  make  up  their  number 
themselves  served  them  as  an  effectual  means  to  this  end.  Both 
the  small  and  great  councils  in  the  cities  had  the  right  of  completing 
their  number  themselves,  or  of  mutually  electing  one  another. 
Hence  it  tacitly  became  the  rule  that  appointments  to  positions  in 
the  councils  should  be  held  for  life,  or  even  hereditary;  in  Lucerne, 
for  instance,  the  son  succeeded  the  father,  and  the  brother  the 
brother.  But  when  the  end  could  not  be  attained  lawfully,  unlaw- 
ful means,  such  as  bribery,  were  brought  to  bear.  Thus  the  burgh- 
ers separated  themselves  into  a  distinct  caste,  with  the  sole  and 
hereditary  right  of -governing  the  whole  state.  The  road  to  any 
government  appointment  was  totally  barred  to  all  who  were  not  by 
birth  freemen  of  the  city.  Members  of  the  government  took  the 
title  of  "Esquire"  {Junker),  placed  the  attribute  "z/ow"  before 
their  surnames,  and  adopted  arms  and  crests. 

Meanwhile  an  important  difference  became  evident  in  the 
various  states.  In  the  democratic  cantons  the  Lands gemeind en 
at  first  formed  an  effectual  barrier  against  the  formation  of  a  system 
of  government  by  powerful  families;  they  passed  severe  laws 
against  the  fraudulent  acquisition  and  the  inheriting  of  offices. 
Similarly  in  the  guild  cities  of  Zurich,  Basle,  and  Schaffhausen  the 
guilds  prevented  individual  families  from  obtaining  exclusive  sway, 
so  that  here  the  government  could  never  be  completely  monopolized 
by  a  limited  number  who  should  exclude  others  by  law.  In  the 
cities  of  what  was  formerly  Burgundian  Switzerland,  on  the  other 
hand,  where  the  guilds  never  attained  any  political  significance, 
as  in  Berne,  Fribourg,  and  Soleure,  and  also  in  Lucerne,  a  purely 
aristocratic  system  was  gradually  formed,  or  as  it  was  called,  after 
a  life  system  of  ancient  Rome,  a  "  Patriciate."  In  Fribourg,  for 
instance,  it  was  determined  in  1627  to  exclude  all  families  who 
were  not  at  that  time  within  the  pale  of  the  council  from  holding 
any  public  offices ;  a  "  secret  chamber  "  of  twenty- four  members 


RELIGIOUS     WARS  467 

1600-1712 

elected  the  great  and  small  councils  and  all  government  officials, 
and  completed  itself;  thus  the  political  rights  were  limited  to  only 
seventy-one  families. 

No  city,  however,  guarded  the  rights  of  aristocratic  families 
more  strictly  than  Berne,  where  in  1640  Frischherz,  the  treasurer, 
was  executed  for  attacking  prevalent  abuses,  and  in  1646  Musslin, 
the  former  bailiff,  was  sentenced  to  a  heavy  fine,  a  humble  apology 
and  banishment  for  making  use  of  invectives. 

The  formation  of  these  aristocracies  in  Switzerland  was  quite 
in  keeping  with  the  general  tendency  of  European  policy  at  that 
time,  for  in  all  parts  in  other  countries  of  Europe  efforts  were  being 
made  to  extend  and  strengthen  the  powers  of  government.  The 
Reformation  itself  had  contributed  to  this,  for  in  the  Reformed 
states  the  power  of  the  church  had  been  by  law  transferred  to  the 
governments,  while  in  the  Catholic  states  the  government  lent  her 
arm  to  the  church,  to  defend  and  expand  it.  This  union  of  eccle- 
siastical and  political  interests  tended,  both  in  republics  and  in  mon- 
archical states,  to  the  revival  of  despotism ;  hence  every  Swiss  state 
now  began  to  look  anxiously  to  the  preservation  of  her  sovereign 
rights.  The  chief  aim  of  the  various  states  was  to  increase  their 
power  in  all  directions,  and  to  suffer  no  encroachments  from  with- 
out. They  cut  themselves  totally  adrift  from  one  another,  as  from 
ahen  states. 

Great  as  were  the  differences  between  the  internal  conditions 
of  the  aristocracies  in  the  towns,  they  all  held  a  like  position  with 
regard  to  the  rural  population,  whom  they  endeavored  to  reduce  to 
the  condition  of  subjects  with  no  voice  in  the  government  These 
endeavors  had  become  very  evident  by  the  latter  half  of  the  fif- 
teenth century;  then,  however,  the  country  folk  made  an  energetic 
resistance,  as  in  the  time  of  Waldmann.  The  position  of  the  sev- 
eral territories  was  usually  settled  by  covenants ;  from  the  first  the 
various  districts  in  the  common  domains  had  enjoyed  peculiar  lib- 
erties, which  were  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Confederates  when 
they  took  possession ;  such  was  also  the  case  with  the  territories  ac- 
quired by  the  various  cities.  If  at  any  time  these  were  curtailed  or 
disregarded,  the  peasants  would  obtain  from  their  lords  fresh  char- 
ters of  recognition,  such  as  the  Charters  of  Waldmann  (Wald- 
mannischen  Spruchbriefe)  in  Zurich  (1489),  and  the  "Treaties 
of  Kappel"  there  (1531),  and  likewise  in  Berne  by  the  latter 
treaties. 


468  SWITZERLAND 

1600-1712 

Warned  by  the  refractoriness  and  vigilance  of  the  people,  the 
governments  for  a  time  adopted  another  course,  and  tried  to  estab- 
lish more  friendly  relations  with  their  subjects.  Hence  from  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century  it  became  the  rule  in  Zurich  and  Berne 
to  consult  the  peasantry  and  advise  with  them  upon  all  important 
acts  of  government,  such  as  the  declaration  of  war,  the  conclusion 
of  peace,  alliances,  taxes,  etc.  During  the  course  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  however,  the  idea  gradually  obtained  that  the  authorities 
wielded  the  sword  of  protection  and  punishment  in  God's  name, 
and  that  the  divine  law  required  obedience  from  subjects  in  all 
cases.  The  example  of  the  monarchs  of  that  time,  who  displayed 
their  sovereign  magnificence  as  "  gracious  lords  ruling  in  God's 
stead,"  and  who  required  unconditional  obedience  from  their  sub- 
jects, was  imitated  by  the  authorities  in  the  republics.  Just  as  the 
former  sought  to  set  aside  the  authority  of  parliaments  and  states, 
so  the  latter  tried  to  destroy  the  influence  of  the  people,  more  es- 
pecially after  an  exclusive  ruling  faction  had  arisen  within  the  cities 
themselves.  Berne  appealed  to  the  rural  district  in  1589  for  the 
last  time,  Zurich  in  1620  and  1640;  divers  individuals  in  Zurich 
were  of  opinion  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  liberties  of  the  town  to 
render  any  account  to  purchased  subjects. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  deprive  the  people  of  the  rights  and 
liberties  formerly  conferred  and  increased,  or  to  bury  them  in 
oblivion;  thus  Zurich  withdrew  the  charters  of  Waldmann  and  of 
Kappel  unnoticed,  and  Berne  simply  caused  the  charters  of  Kappel 
and  the  liberties  of  the  Vaud  to  be  effaced.  The  authorities  next 
tried  to  abolish  the  many  diverse  customs  and  legal  conditions,  and 
to  reduce  the  inhabitants  of  all  parts  of  the  land  into  a  similar 
condition  of  subjection.  The  towns,  moreover,  were  anxious  to 
secure  financial  advantages  for  themselves  by  fresh  claims  and 
privileges.  That  which  Waldmann  had  already  attempted  was 
now  carried  into  execution;  the  towns  appropriated  numerous 
monopolies  (such  as  the  sale  of  salt  and  powder  and  the  practice 
of  industries),  and  restricted  trade  in  general — the  sale  of  cattle  by 
a  duty  called  Trattengeld,^  the  sale  of  wine  by  another  called 
Ungeld  or  Ohmgeld.  The  taxes  caused  even  more  bitterness  than 
these  institutions.  The  levying  of  taxes  from  time  to  time  had 
commenced  indeed  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century;  the  subject- 

1  The  expression  comes  from  traite;  in  their  wrath  the  peasants  called  it 
scornfully  Krottengeld. 


RELIGIOUS    WARS 

1570-1646 

lands,  however,  were  unaccustomed  to  it,  and  regarded  it  as  an 
unlawful  innovation. 

The  peasants  of  Switzerland  prided  themselves  upon  being,  in 
many  respects,  better  situated  than  those  of  other  lands;  after  the 
Reformation  a  very  small  proportion  of  them  were  bondmen,  the 
greater  number  being  free  landowners,  who  rejoiced  in  their  pros- 
perity and  in  the  consciousness  of  a  great  past  and  Republican 
liberties.  They  therefore  watched  the  temper  of  the  authorities 
very  carefully,'  and  were  quick  to  resent  any  encroachments  upon 
their  traditional  liberties,  more  especially  in  the  matter  of  fresh 
impositions.  Thus  in  1570  the  peasantry  of  Lucerne  marched 
upon  the  town  on  account  of  some  such  innovation;  in  1594 
Basle  with  difficulty  succeeded  in  quelling  an  armed  revolt  of 
the  peasants  against  the  town  {Rappenkrieg,  or  "  War  of  Farth- 
ings ")  ;  in  1599  the  peasantry  around  the  lake  of  Zurich  and  in  the 
bailiwick  of  Griiningen  rose  in  revolt  about  a  war  tax.  The  peas- 
ants refused  to  admit  the  excuse  of  the  towns,  that  the  Thirty 
Years'  War  had  entailed  extraordinary  outlay  for  fortifications. 
When  in  1641  Berne  levied  a  property  tax  without  reference  to  the 
country  district,  a  rising  took  place  in  the  neighborhood  of  Thun 
and  in  the  Emmental,  and  a  civil  war  must  have  ensued  had  not 
the  Reformed  states  interposed.  Some  years  later  Kiburg,  Wadens- 
wil,  and  Knonau  refused  to  pay  a  tax  levied  by  Zurich,  relying 
upon  the  charters  of  Waldmann  and  Kappel;  they  demanded 
greater  rights  and  liberties  equal  to  those  of  the  citizens,  and  when 
these  were  denied  they  flew  to  arms.  Zurich,  however,  succeeded 
in  effecting  a  reconciliation  with  the  county  of  Kiburg,  took  pos- 
session of  Wadenswil  in  1646  by  an  armed  force,  and  represented 
to  the  inhabitants  that  they  deserved  to  be  cut  down  to  a  man  with- 
out quarter.  Four  ringleaders  were  executed,  others  condemned 
to  pay  fines ;  the  men  of  Wadenswil  were  compelled — "  to  the  sor- 
row of  many  honorable  patriots,"  as  writes  Waser,  the  noble  bur- 
gomaster of  Zurich — to  implore  upon  their  knees  that  their  charters 
of  liberties  should  be  confiscated !  In  other  bailiwicks  and  districts 
these  were  withdrawn  by  the  bailiffs;  but  one  remained,  and  that 
in  Kiissnach,  on  the  Lake  of  Zurich. 

Finding  that  isolated  risings  were  easily  suppressed,  the  peas- 
antry took  the  earliest  opportunity  of  combining  for  a  united  effort. 
In  almost  every  country  of  Europe  the  lower  classes  were  at  that 
time  in  a  violent  ferment;  efforts  were  being  everywhere  made  to 


470  SWITZERLAND 

1646-1653 

shake  off  the  yoke  of  despotism.  In  England  the  Parliament  and 
people  were  successful  in  their  rebellion  against  absolute  monarchy 
in  the  revolution,  usually  styled  the  Great  Rebellion;  in  France 
people  and  nobles  combined  against  ministerial  despotism  (the 
Fronde) ;  in  Catalonia  and  Naples  the  people  rose  against  the  op- 
pressive taxes  and  arbitrary  rule  of  Spain.  Might  not  the  free 
peasants  of  Switzerland  also  hope  for  success,  if  they  could  only 
make  common  cause?  An  occasion  offered  itself  immediately 
after  the  close  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 

During  the  Thirty  Years'  War  numberless  fugitives  estab- 
lished themselves  in  Switzerland  with  their  fortunes,  that  country 
being  but  little  if  at  all  disturbed  by  the  war,  and  consequently  the 
prices  of  houses,  land,  and  provisions  rose.  The  peasants  of 
Switzerland  made  splendid  sales,  and  enjoyed  a  period  of  luxury; 
the  mercenaries,  too,  had  ample  opportunity  of  making  money  in 
foreign  service.  After  the  close  of  the  war,  however,  the  fugitives 
withdrew,  the  value  and  price  of  provisions,  and  consequently  of 
land  also,  dropped  with  every  year  and  every  month,  and  the  oc- 
casion for  foreign  service  was  also  at  an  end.  Want  of  money  and 
discontent  everywhere  ensued. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  peculiar  innovations  were  now  made  in 
the  coinage,  which  greatly  embarrassed  the  peasantry.  During  the 
war,  in  order  to  raise  money,  the  authorities  had  issued  a  base 
coinage.  Now,  in  1652,  they  suddenly  once  more  debased  the 
small  coin,  and  even  called  in  some.  In  Berne  one  batz  ^  became 
worth  half  a  batz,  in  Fribourg  and  Soleure  three-quarters.  This 
was  a  sensible  loss  to  the  peasants,  and  moreover  sufficient  time 
was  not  allowed  them  for  exchange.  The  people  of  Entlebuch 
were  the  first  to  rise.  Often  enough  already  they  had  joined  issue 
with  the  authorities  of  Lucerne,  when  the  latter  had  indulged  in 
any  encroachments  upon  their  liberties  and  rights.  They  sent  del- 
egates to  the  government  on  January  8,  1653,  to  implore  help  in 
this  financial  perplexity,  and  the  abolition  of  the  latest  restrictions 
on  trade,  manufactures,  and  commerce.  They  found  small  hear- 
ing, however;  a  member  of  the  committee  of  the  Council  encoun- 
tered them  angrily,  called  them  troublesome,  pig-headed  fellows, 
who  must  be  brought  to  order  by  severity  and  rigor;  they  would 
never  be  quiet  till  four  or  five  hundred  French-Swiss,  sword-proof 
and  sure-footed,  should  be  sent  to  bring  them  to  reason!  At  a 
second  discussion,  when  the  people  of  Entlebuch  further  demanded 
*  A  Swiss  coin  =  four  kreutzers. 


RELIGIOUS    WARS  4171 

1688 

the  abolition  of  prosecutions  for  debt  and  a  reduction  of  rents,  the 
magistrate  confronted  them  with  the  rights  of  the  powers  ordained 
of  God.  But  a  sturdy  fellow  of  Entlebuch  exclaimed :  "  Yes,  yes ! 
you  are  of  God,  if  you  rule  righteously,  but  of  the  devil  if  you  rule 
unrighteously !  "  Negotiations  availing  nothing,  the  men  of  En- 
tlebuch proceeded  to  arm  themselves  with  clubs  and  battle-axes. 
At  the  same  time  they  endeavored  to  form  a  combination  and  union 
with  the  other  bailiwicks,  and  prevailed  upon  a  large  majority  to 
join  them;  on  February  26,  1653,  the  people  of  ten  bailiwicks  as- 
sembled at  a  Lands gemeinde  at  Wolhusen  in  Entlebuch,  and  sol- 
emnly pledged  themselves  to  mutual  assistance  for  the  redress  of 
their  grievances.  Certain  Bernese  pheasants  assisted  at  this  league, 
and  by  their  means  the  revolt  spread  into  Bernese  territory,  par- 
ticularly into  the  neighboring  Emmental,  where  young  Nicholas 
Leuenberger  incited  the  peasants  to  revolt.  On  March  14  peasants 
from  Berne  and  Lucerne  held  a  joint  assembly  at  Langnau  in  the 
Emmental,  declared  their  grievances  and  encouraged  the  Bernese 
Aargau  to  join  them  also,  whereupon  the  peasants  in  the  Aargau 
and  in  the  territory  of  Soleure  and  Basle  likewise  rose.  Then 
first  came  into  use  the  party  epithets  of  the  "  Soft  ones  "  {Linden) 
or  adherents  of  the  government,  and  the  "  Hard  ones  "  (Harten) 
or  opponents  of  the  government. 

These  early  movements,  however,  were  quickly  suppressed; 
Lucerne,  like  Zurich  in  1489,  requested  Federal  mediation,  and 
assembled  troops  from  the  territories  which  had  remained  true  to 
her  when  the  peasants  advanced  upon  the  town.  The  rebellious 
peasants,  powerless  against  the  fortified  town,  were  forced  to  ag^ee 
to  a  truce  on  March  18,  declaring  the  League  of  Wolhusen  null  and 
void.  In  the  Aargau  the  peasants  subsided  after  preventing 
Aarau  from  being  garrisoned  by  Federal  troops;  the  governments 
of  Basle,  Berne,  and  Soleure  came  to  terms  with  the  insurgents,  by 
which  certain  imposts  were  abated. 

The  Diet,  however,  exasperated  them  afresh  by  calling  their 
grievances  "  the  futile  excuses  of  bankrupts,"  and  by  resolving  to 
lend  ready  aid  to  the  authorities  of  every  state  against  insurrections 
of  the  peasantry,  without  reference  to  the  justice  or  injustice  of  the 
revolt.  The  lords  based  this  decision  upon  the  provisions  of  the 
Covenant  of  Stans,  that  the  Federal  states  should  render  one  an- 
other aid  against  rebellious  subjects.  This  demeanor  on  the  part 
of  the  Diet  soon  fanned  the  still  glowing  embers  into  flame.    The 


472  SWITZERLAND 

1653 

peasants  everywhere  regretted  that  they  had  allowed  themselves  to 
be  so  easily  appeased;  in  Entlebuch  the  discontent  was  fanned  by 
Christian  Schibi,  of  Escholzmatt,  a  hoary  warrior  of  powerful 
physique;  the  inhabitants  of  the  Emmental  once  more  ranged 
themselves  under  Leuenberger,  and  fresh  ferments  arose  in  the 
territories  of  Soleure  and  Basle.  In  opposition  to  the  "  League  of 
the  Lords  "  arose  the  idea  of  a  great  "League  of  the  People"  (or 
subjects).  Hence,  on  April  23,  1653,  a  Federal  Landsgemeinde 
was  assembled  at  Sumiswald,  composed  of  delegates  from  the 
peasantry  of  Lucerne,  Berne,  Soleure,  and  Basle,  and  made  a  com- 
pact, by  which  they  engaged  to  defend  one  another  with  their  prop- 
erty and  their  lives,  to  act  in  concert  and  to  compel  the  authorities 
to  abolish  the  new  impositions;  Nicholas  Leuenberger  himself  was 
elected  president,  much  against  his  will.  At  a  fresh  Landsgemeinde 
at  Hutwil  on  April  30,  which  5000  peasants  attended,  the  people 
solemnly  ratified  this  compact.  The  peasants  vowed  body  and  soul, 
life  and  property,  for  mutual  defense.  Conscious  of  a  righteous 
cause,  and  full  of  indignation  at  the  injustice  of  the  new  system  of 
government,  they  rose  above  all  the  religious  differences  which  had 
sundered  the  Confederation  for  centuries  past;  Catholics  and  Prot- 
estants realized  that  they  were  members  of  the  same  stock,  one 
united  people,  as  had  once  been  the  case  with  the  Confederates  at 
the  sealing  of  the  first  leagues  during  the  danger  menaced  by  the 
Hapsburgs.  The  tradition  of  the  oath  on  the  Riitli  was  vividly 
present  in  their  minds:  three  men  of  Entlebuch  represented  the 
"  Three  Tells  "  at  an  official  assembly  at  Schupfheim,  and  many  a 
man  looked  back  upon  the  "  time  of  William  Tell "  as  a  sort  of 
"  Paradise  Lost."  The  demands  of  the  peasants  were  not  exorbi- 
tant; the  majority  only  wanted  the  abolition  of  the  new  imposts 
and  restrictions,  the  restoration  of  their  former  better  legal  status, 
and  the  establishment  of  greater  confidence  between  the  people  and 
their  rulers.     Yet  even  this  was  not  to  be  conceded. 

At  the  end  of  April  and  the  beginning  of  May  the  Diet  decreed 
that  the  rising  should  be  suppressed  by  force  of  arms,  whereupon 
the  several  states  summoned  their  contingents.  The  peasants 
meanwhile  had  won  the  Free  Bailiwicks  over  to  their  cause,  and 
displayed  the  greatest  activity  in  all  directions;  they  assembled  in 
crowds,  and  guarded  all  the  roads  and  passes.  Nicholas  Leuen- 
berger, their  leader,  at  first  enjoyed  unqualified  respect,  and  exer- 
cised dictatorial  authority,  to  which  a  ready  obedience  was  yielded. 


RELIGIOUS     WARS  473 

1653 

It  was  originally  intended  to  take  Berne  by  surprise ;  Leuenberger, 
however,  confined  himself  to  threats,  and  a  hollow  peace  was  con- 
cluded on  May  24,  in  which  Berne  made  many  fair  promises.  This 
"  Peace  of  Murifeld  "  was  broken  by  both  parties.  Leuenberger 
undermined  his  own  position  by  this  course,  and  had  no  longer 
sufficient  authority  to  restrain  his  followers  from  acts  of  violence, 
and  from  invading  the  territories  of  Lucerne  and  Aargau.  Berne 
also  now  broke  the  terms  of  the  peace,  and  summoned  auxiliaries 
from  the  Vaud  and  Fribourg.  Meanwhile  an  army  from  Zurich 
and  from  the  eastern  states,  being  ignorant  of  the  peace  of  Muri- 
feld, advanced  toward  Mellingen,  under  the  conduct  of  General 
Conrad  Werdmiiller,  who  had  occupied  Wadenswil  in  1646. 
Thereupon  the  Bernese  peasants  combined  afresh,  took  up  arms 
once  more  under  Leuenberger,  and  hastened  to  the  help  of  the  army 
of  the  rebels  then  in  Aargau,  commanded  by  Schibi.  But  Werd- 
miiller's  troops,  though  few  in  number,  were  better  armed  and 
better  trained ;  they  had,  moreover,  acquired  an  exact  knowledge  of 
the  peasants'  plan  of  action  through  a  citizen  of  Zurich.  A  heated 
combat  at  Wohlenswil,  on  June  3,  therefore  terminated  in  a  defeat 
of  the  peasantry.  Two  days  later,  on  June  5,  General  Zwier  of 
Uri  attacked  the  peasants  of  Lucerne  at  the  bridge  of  Gislikon,  but 
was  forced  to  retreat,  and  on  June  8  Sigmund  von  Erlach,  the  Ber- 
nese general,  gained  a  victory  at  Herzogenbuchsee  over  the  troops 
which  Leuenberger  had  again  assembled  for  the  struggle.  The 
peasants  of  Basle  also  yielded.  The  last  act  of  the  tragedy  ended, 
where  it  began,  in  Entlebuch.  When  the  government  required  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  the  "  Three  Tells "  raised  a  revolt ;  but  this 
ended  when,  in  September,  1653,  the  leaders  died. 

The  victorious  rulers  were  merciless  in  their  sentences ;  Leuen- 
berger and  Schibi  were  tortured  and  beheaded,  and  a  number  of 
prisoners  were  fearfully  tormented,  mutilated,  and  put  to  death. 
Thus  the  cause  of  the  peasants,  which  had  made  such  a  brilliant 
start,  was  completely  shattered  by  dissensions,  imprudence,  and 
treachery,  and  remained  in  abeyance  for  almost  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years.  The  struggles  for  liberty  in  Switzerland,  therefore,  shared 
the  fate  of  those  in  other  continental  lands,  all  of  which  were 
obliged  to  succumb ;  and  here,  as  in  Spain  and  France,  only  afforded 
a  fair  field  for  despotism  to  strike  its  roots  the  deeper  and  more 
firmly. 

The  aristocratic  development  reached  its  perfection  in  the 


474  SWITZERLAND 

1653-1712 

latter  half  of  the  century.  In  Berne,  Soleure,  and  Fribourg  ad- 
mission to  the  rights  of  citizenship  was  totally  suspended  from  1680 
to  1690,  in  Soleure  with  the  express  condition:  Until  the  number 
of  reigning  families  be  reduced  to  twenty-five !  In  Berne  the  gov- 
erning families  or  "  patricians "  disputed  among  themselves  for 
rank  and  title.  Three  distinct  classes  began  to  be  recognized ;  the 
first  and  most  honored  was  entitled  the  "  highly-respected  nobil- 
ity"  (wohledelfeste) ,  the  second  the  "respected  nobility"  (edel- 
feste),  and  the  third  the  "nobility"  (feste)  only.  Violations  of 
these  formalities  were  considered  punishable  offenses.  The  most 
powerful  families  were  those  of  Steiger,  Wattenwyl,  Stiirler,  Graf- 
fenried,  etc.,  by  whom  most  of  the  appointments  were  occupied. 
Efforts  were  also  made  in  the  guild  cities  to  establish  a  similar  rule 
of  powerful  families,  and  these  towns  also  suspended  the  admission 
of  citizens.  In  Zurich,  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  guild  towns, 
the  guilds  and  city  companies  lost  their  original  significance.  The 
great  council  was  no  longer  elected  by  the  guilds,  but  only  by  a 
committee  of  them,  who  formed  at  the  same  time  a  portion  of  the 
council.  In  Schaffhausen  and  Basle  the  council,  which  was  re- 
newed by  itself  from  a  few  families,  was  all  powerful ;  at  Basle,  in 
1666,  all  the  more  important  positions  in  the  council  were  in  the 
hands  of  the  single  family  of  Burckhardt.  Moreover,  it  frequently 
happened  that  individual  families  resorted  to  all  sorts  of  intrigues 
and  corruption  in  order  to  attain  to  power ;  and  these  often  became 
so  bad  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  introduce  the  ballot  at  elec- 
tions, as  was  the  case  in  Schaffhausen  in  1689,  and  in  Berne  in  1710. 
There  was  no  longer  any  talk  of  communicating  with  the  rural 
population  about  political  matters;  the  country  people  were  even 
excluded  from  all  public  appointments.  All  upper  bailiffs  and 
country  bailiffs,  officers,  captains,  parish  clerks,  and  ministers  were 
citizens,  and  the  habit  of  command  imbued  the  citizens  with  an  idea 
of  higher  rank,  as  though  they  were  of  better  blood  than  the  coun- 
try folk,  whom  they  had  nevertheless,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
earlier,  declared  to  be  equal  members  of  the  state  and  dear  kinsmen. 
In  the  civic  cantons,  moreover,  the  whole  of  the  public  burdens 
pressed  upon  the  poor  country  districts;  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  and  capitalists  did  not  contribute  a  farthing;  for  instance, 
while  the  property  of  citizens  might  be  inherited  with  freedom,  a 
legacy  duty  had  to  be  paid  for  the  very  smallest  inheritance  in  the 
country.      The  rulers,  bailiffs,  officials,  clerks,  beneficiaries,  and 


RELIGIOUS    WARS  411S 

1653-1712 

such-like  grew  rich  upon  tithes,  Lenten  offerings,  and  feudal  rents, 
but  needed  to  pay  nothing  themselves.  Even  men  holding  offices 
and  dignities  ventured  publicly  to  attack  and  censure  this  aristo- 
cratic system  with  its  abuses,  as  for  example  Pastor  (Antistes) 
Werenfels  in  Basle,  and  Pastor  (Antistes)  Breitinger  in  Zurich. 
In  certain  states  public  dissatisfaction  found  vent  from  time  to  time 
in  revolutions  and  rebellions,  such  as  occurred  in  Schaffhausen  in 
1688,  Basle  in  1691,  and  Zurich  in  1713;  but  these  efforts  for  the 
most  part  met  with  small  success,  or  were  suppressed  and  rendered 
abortive. 

The  Peasants*  War  had  called  attention  to  many  failings  in 
the  Federal  laws  and  their  administration.  Remedies  were  devised, 
and  in  May,  1655,  a  proposition  was  made  at  the  Diet  to  draw  up  a 
common  uniform  Federal  charter.  As  the  Confederation  in  the 
main  merely  represented  a  number  of  heterogeneous  alliances  be- 
tween individual  states,  and  therefore  certain  states  holding  unequal 
positions  were  somewhat  estranged  from  one  another,  a  wholesome 
national  unity  might  well  have  been  introduced  had  this  decision 
been  carried  into  execution.  Waser,  Burgomaster  of  Zurich,  and 
Colonel  Sigmund  von  Erlach,  of  Berne  (nephew  of  the  major  gen- 
eral), drew  up  a  Federal  charter  embodying  the  several  previous 
alliances  in  one  comprehensive  whole.  But  when  the  time  for  its 
acceptance  arrived,  the  older  and  more  privileged  states  could  not 
make  up  their  minds  to  sacrifice  their  advantages  in  favor  of  a 
common  league;  moreover,  men  feared  the  supremacy  of  Zurich 
and  Berne,  which  had  once  formed  Zwingli's  ideal,  and  refused  to 
give  up  the  separate  leagues.  The  proposed  alteration  therefore 
fell  to  the  ground,  and  as  if  in  defiance  the  Catholic  states  renewed 
the  Borromean  League  in  1655,  and  made  a  fresh  alliance  with 
France,  contrary  to  a  former  prohibition  of  the  Diet.  Even  the 
Reformed  states  now  contemplated  a  separate  league,  and  entered 
into  negotiations  with  Holland  and  England.  So  the  two  parties 
once  more  confronted  one  another  in  hostile  fashion,  almost  as  they 
had  done  just  before  the  wars  of  Kappel.  How  differently  had  the 
despised  peasants,  the  "  heretics  and  rebels,"  stood  the  test,  when 
in  spite  of  all  religious  differences  they  had  revived  the  Federal 
sense  of  brotherhood  by  a  common  league!  The  breach  between 
the  two  religious  camps  was  so  great  that  an  event  in  itself  in- 
significant led  to  a  civil  war. 

Thirty-eight  Protestants  ot  Art,  who  had  formed  a  secret 


476  SWITZERLAND 

1656-1663 

Reformed  commune,  and  endeavored  to  spread  their  religious  tenets, 
fled  from  persecution  to  Zurich,  and,  supported  by  that  town,  de- 
manded the  restoration  of  their  property.  Schwyz,  however,  not 
only  refused  this,  but  also  punished  the  kindred  of  the  fugitives 
most  cruelly  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  fugitives  from 
Zurich;  presuming  upon  its  cantonal  sovereignty,  it  would  hear 
nothing  of  Federal  judicial  proceedings.  Finding  it  hopeless  to 
attempt  an  amicable  settlement,  Zurich  impetuously  took  the  law 
into  her  own  hands,  and  declared  war  on  January  6,  1656,  in  the 
name  of  all  the  Reformed  states,  accusing  Schwyz  of  violating  the 
peace  of  1531.  Kappel  was  at  once  garrisoned,  the  Aargau  and 
Thurgau  protected.  General  Rudolf  Werdmiiller  (a  cousin  of 
Conrad)  advanced  upon  Rapperswil  with  10,000  men;  but  while 
he  was  aimlessly  and  hopelessly  besieging  that  little  town,  he  left 
the  Bernese,  who  had  marched  slowly  toward  Aargau,  completely 
exposed  to  the  main  army  of  the  enemy.  The  Bernese  on  their 
part,  heedless  and  undisciplined,  next  occupied  Vilmergen,  but 
were  surprised  and  defeated  on  January  23  by  troops  from  Lucerne. 
Through  the  mediation  of  the  neutral  states  and  of  foreign  powers 
a  truce  was  effected,  and  by  the  exertions  of  Wettstein,  Burgo- 
master of  Basle,  peace  was  concluded  at  Baden  on  March  7.  In 
this  peace  the  views  of  the  Catholic  states  were  adopted,  as  of  the 
victorious  party,  and  hence  for  centuries  Federal  interests  were 
sacrified  to  the  separatist  spirit  of  those  states  or  to  cantonal  sov- 
ereignty. The  sovereign  rights  of  every  state  were  to  remain  for- 
ever undisputed ;  and  above  all,  every  state  was  to  be  at  liberty  to 
use  her  own  discretion  in  matters  concerning  the  migration  of  those 
holding  different  religious  views.  Just  as  in  1648  the  sovereign 
independence  of  the  members  of  the  German  empire  had  been  as- 
sured, so  it  was  now  with  the  members  of  the  Swiss  League;  with 
the  result  that  the  political  system  of  Switzerland  also  presented  a 
like  picture  of  a  maimed  body  and  a  powerless  organism. 

While  in  the  internal  governments  of  the  individual  states 
interested  motives  and  selfishness  appear  as  the  prevalent  evils  of 
the  time,  an  incredible  inconsistency  is  apparent  in  their  dealings 
with  foreign  powers,  as  in  this  respect  also  every  state  acted  accord- 
ing to  her  own  will  and  pleasure ;  the  Swiss  were  never  more  shame- 
lessly sold  to  the  highest  bidder  than  at  this  time.  Thus  France 
used  Switzerland  completely  to  her  own  advantage.  The  alliance 
of  1602  expiring  in  165 1,  the  Court  of  Paris  was  anxious  for  its 


RELIGIOUS    WARS  477 

1663-1672 

renewal.  De  la  Barde,  the  envoy,  by  threats,  promises,  and  various 
artifices  enlisted  first  the  Catholic  and  then  the  Reformed  states  in 
his  cause.  Disregarding  the  urgent  warnings  of  Wettstein,  the 
patriotic  Burgomaster  of  Basle,  the  thirteen  states  renewed  the  old 
alliance  with  France  at  Soleure  on  September  24,  1663.  In  return 
for  certain  advantages  of  trade  and  commerce,  for  an  annuity  of 
3000  francs  for  every  canton,  and  the  pay  of  the  troops,  the  Con- 
federation engaged  to  allow  France  to  levy  from  6000  to  16,000 
men.  On  November  18  this  alliance  was  confirmed  by  oath  in 
Notre  Dame,  in  Paris ;  the  Swiss,  however,  were  grievously  morti- 
fied, and  Louis  XIV.  did  not  abide  by  the  terms  of  the  alliance. 
There  could  be  no  talk  of  the  payment  of  arrears  (30  millions),  for 
Moulier,  the  crafty  French  ambassador,  had  easily  succeeded  in 
bribing  the  states  by  gifts  and  false  promises. 

For  the  rest,  the  Confederation  took  up  a  neutral  position  dur- 
ing the  great  wars  of  Louis  XIV.,  as  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 
But  the  task  of  preserving  an  armed  neutrality  was  again  left  un- 
fulfilled, and  any  uniform  measures  which  they  adopted  proved  but 
transitory. 

In  the  first  war  of  Louis,  that  in  the  Netherlands  (1666-1668), 
the  Confederation  should  have  protected  Franche  Comte,  which, 
according  to  ancient  treaties,  had  been  included  in  the  Swiss  neu- 
trality. When,  in  January,  1668,  it  was  attacked  by  a  French 
army,  in  whose  ranks  were  even  some  Swiss  troops,  the  states 
actually  united  in  a  decision  that  the  mercenaries  should  be  with- 
drawn and  all  French  levies  prohibited.  The  Reformed  states  at 
the  same  time  revived  the  notion  of  the  Defensionale,  adopted 
during  the  Thirty  Years'  War;  the  danger  brought  the  Catholics 
to  their  side,  so  that  a  common  military  system  now  took  a  definite 
form.  A  council  of  war,  consisting  of  delegates  from  every  canton 
or  state,  and  a  war  exchequer,  supplied  by  subsidies  from  the  sev- 
eral states,  were  established ;  every  state  was  to  contribute  a  certain 
contingent  of  troops  to  the  Federal  army,  which  was  affixed  at 
40,000  men.  This  course  of  action,  if  continued,  might  in  time 
have  proved  the  means  of  an  important  advance  in  the  Federal  con- 
stitution, the  first  step  toward  national  unity;  but  France  soon 
knew  how  to  draw  the  states  back  to  her  side  and  to  shake  their 
good  resolutions.  Moulier  the  ambassador  began  by  negotiating 
with  each  state  separately,  and  the  prohibition  of  levies  immediately 
fell  to  the  ground :  both  the  Catholic  and  the  Reformed  states  once 


478  SWITZERLAND 

1672-1700 

more  sent  mercenaries  to  Louis.  By  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 
the  latter  was  obliged  to  restore  Franche  Comte. 

During  the  second  war,  that  against  Holland  (1672- 1678), 
Louis  XIV.  violated  the  treaties  outrageously  by  leading  Swiss 
mercenaries  to  take  the  field  against  Protestant  and  republican 
Holland,  Erlach's  Bernese  regiment  at  first  refused  to  cross  the 
Rhine,  and  Captain  Rahn  of  Zurich  returned  home.  Louis  was 
quietly  allowed  to  take  permanent  possession  of  Franche  Comte. 
The  Defensionale  was  powerless  to  effect  any  practical  union  of  the 
states,  and  remained  a  well-meant  project.  The  Catholic  cantons, 
encouraged  by  the  Pope,  labored  to  oppose  it  as  a  "  work  of 
heresy";  Schwyz  complained  that  the  younger  states  might  com- 
mand the  older  ones,  and  therefore  withdrew  from  it,  and  was  soon 
followed  by  the  rest  of  the  Catholic  cantons  ( 1676- 1680). 

Strassburg,  the  old  ally  of  the  Confederates,  fell  to  Louis,  like 
Franche  Comte,  in  1681.  He  even  threatened  the  Swiss  by  erect- 
ing the  great  fortress  of  Huningen  opposite  Basle.  The  Hugue- 
nots, whom  he  expelled  in  1685,  found  refuge  in  the  Reformed 
states.  Mercenaries  flocked  to  France  in  crowds  during  the 
later  wars  of  Louis.  In  the  war  in  the  Palatinate  (1688-1697) 
about  35,000  fought  at  his  side  with  a  courage  and  heroism  worthy 
of  a  better  cause.  Louis  owed  his  brilliant  victories  in  this  war 
chiefly  to  the  bravery  of  the  Swiss  mercenaries.  How  many  of 
them  shed  their  blood  in  the  cause  of  the  foreign  despot  is  shown  by 
the  expressions  of  Stuppa,  the  chief  mercenary  leader,  who,  when 
Louvois  spoke  reproachfully  of  the  amount  of  gold  which  France 
had  bestowed  upon  the  Swiss,  saying  that  a  military  road  might  be 
paved  with  thalers  from  Paris  to  Basle,  answered  quickly :  "  That 
is  possible ;  but  a  canal  from  Basle  to  Paris  might  be  filled  with  the 
blood  shed  by  the  Swiss  in  your  service !  " 

It  was  therefore  vain  to  hope  for  the  preservation  of  neutrality 
at  home;  in  the  moment  of  need  unity  of  action  was  always  want- 
ing. The  Reformed  states  gradually  inclined  more  and  more  to  the 
side  of  the  Protestant  powers  of  the  north,  Holland,  England,  and 
Prussia,  and  especially  in  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succession  (1700- 
17 13),  when  they  combined  in  opposition  to  France.  Hence  they 
also  favored  the  interests  of  the  allies  with  regard  to  the  princi- 
pality of  Neuchatel.  Here  the  reigning  dynasty  expired  in  1707, 
and  Louis  XIV.  was  anxious  to  confer  the  principality  upon  a 
French  prince.     Neuchatel  hastily  renewed  her  civil  alliance  with 


RELIGIOUS    WARS  '^479 

1700-1702 

the  Swiss  towns,  and  favored  the  hereditary  claims  of  the  Prussian 
king,  which  were  likewise  supported  by  Switzerland.  On  No- 
vember 3,  1707,  the  estates  of  Neuchatel  elected  King  Frederick  of 
Prussia  as  their  prince,  and  this  transfer  of  Neuchatel  to  Prussia 
was  subsequently  ratified  by  the  European  Peace  of  Utrecht 
in  1713.  From  this  time  forward  military  service  in  Holland  was 
specially  popular  in  Switzerland;  the  Protestant  Swiss  felt  them- 
selves more  akin  to  the  Dutch  in  faith,  in  political  views,  and  in  sim- 
plicity of  life  than  to  the  Catholic,  monarchical,  and  aristocratic 
French.  Meanwhile  Austrian,  French,  and  English  gold  still  exer- 
cised its  force  of  attraction  among  them,  and  Switzerland  became  a 
recruiting  ground  for  all  nations. 

Amid  the  confusion  of  foreign  wars  the  states  were  constantly 
at  variance  among  themselves  about  their  ecclesiastical  and  political 
rights,  chiefly  in  regard  to  the  common  domains,  where  their  rights 
of  dominion  came  into  collision.  Trivial  occurrences  often  alarmed 
both  Protestants  and  Catholics,  so  that  many  times  civil  war 
seemed  imminent,  as  in  1664,  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  inter- 
fere with  Protestant  worship  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wigoldingen 
(in  the  Thurgau),  and  in  1694,  when  a  similar  effort  was  made  to 
introduce  Catholic  worship  side  by  side  with  the  Protestant  at 
Wartau,  in  the  Rhine  valley.  The  Spanish  war  of  succession  ac- 
centuated religious  differences,  and  finally  troubles  in  the  Toggen- 
burg  led  to  a  fresh  resort  to  arms.  The  religious  and  political 
liberties  of  this  district  were  constantly  threatened  by  the  abbots  of 
St.  Gall  and  their  tyrannical  officials.  Supported  by  Schwyz  and 
Lucerne,  the  abbots  were  perpetually  extending  their  princely 
power  and  endeavoring  to  secure  the  supremacy  of  the  Catholic 
religion,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  influence  of  Zurich,  which  was 
allied  to  Toggenburg. 

Abbot  Leodegar  Burgisser  now  forced  the  inhabitants  of 
Toggenburg,  in  the  interests  of  the  Catholic  states,  to  construct  a 
great  road  through  the  "  Hummelwald,"  in  order  to  facilitate  com- 
munication between  the  five  states  and  the  territories  of  St.  Gall, 
while  separating  Zurich,  Glarus,  and  the  Grisons.  Opposition 
arising,  however,  and  Zurich  inciting  the  Toggenburg  folk  to  re- 
volt, with  his  usual  equivocal  policy — the  saying  went  that  he 
"  sometimes  put  on  Suabian  breeches,  sometimes  Swiss  " — he  con- 
cluded, in  1702,  an  alliance  with  the  emperor,  who  had  raised  him 
to  the  rank  of  a  prince  of  the  empire.     By  this  he  made  enemies  of 


480  SWITZERLAND 

1702-1718 

the  states  of  Schwyz  and  Glarus,  and  so  defeated  his  own  ends. 
Nothing  daunted,  however,  he  ingratiated  himself  with  Zurich  and 
Berne  as  easily  as  with  the  emperor,  alarmed  the  Catholic  states  by 
this  alliance,  and  forced  them  to  conform  to  his  will.  Schwyz  en- 
gaged to  render  help  to  the  abbot,  and  required  Toggenburg  to 
separate  from  Zurich  and  Berne,  to  whom  she  had  applied  in  the 
cause  of  religious  liberty.  But  the  Toggenburg  folk  considered 
their  liberty  in  danger,  took  up  arms,  and  called  Zurich  and  Berne 
to  their  aid.  The  latter  immediately  took  up  their  cause.  Troops 
from  Zurich  occupied  the  old  district  of  St.  Gall,  took  Wil  (May 
22),  the  monastery  of  St.  Gall,  and  the  Rheintal.  The  Bernese 
occupied  the  Free  Bailiwicks  and  took  Mellingen,  Bremgarten,  and 
also  Baden,  where  they  demolished  the  fortress.  The  Catholic 
states  were  divided  and  when  some  suggested  a  peace,  the  exas- 
perated Catholic  populace  arose,  and  4000  armed  men  precipitated 
themselves  upon  the  Free  Bailiwicks.  Once  again,  as  in  1656,  a 
battle  was  fought  at  Vilmergen  on  July  25,  1712,  but  this  time 
the  Protestants  were  victorious,  although  the  Catholics  were  only 
induced  to  yield  by  the  advance  of  the  Zurich  troops  upon  Rappers- 
wil,  Schwyz,  and  Zug,  and  by  fresh  expeditions  on  the  part  of  the 
Bernese.  By  the  Peace  of  Aarau,  on  August  11,  the  five  states 
were  excluded  from  any  share  in  the  government  of  the  county  of 
Baden  and  the  lower  part  of  the  Free  Bailiwicks,  while  Berne  was 
admitted  to  the  share  in  the  government  of  the  Thurgau,  the  Rhein- 
tal, and  the  upper  and  lower  Free  Bailiwicks.  Zurich,  with  Berne 
and  Glarus,  took  Rapperswil  and  Hurden  under  her  protection,  and 
thus  obtained  a  strong  point  of  support  against  Catholic  Schwyz. 
Peace  was  not  effected  between  Toggenburg  and  the  abbot  till 
1718;  the  political  and  religious  liberties  of  the  district  were  se- 
cured, and  in  return  it  submitted  to  the  abbot. 

This  event  destroyed  the  supremacy  of  the  Catholic  states 
established  by  the  first  war  of  Vilmergen.  Henceforward  success 
and  power  lay  on  the  side  of  the  Reformed  party,  and  Zwingli's 
plan  of  making  Zurich  and  Berne  sovereign  states  seemed  about  to 
be  realized.  But  the  Catholic  states  felt  the  sting  deeply,  and 
therefore  mutual  aversion  afterward  grew  into  an  actual  division 
and  breach,  so  that  thenceforth  there  were  literally  two  Confedera- 
tions in  existence  side  by  side. 

Outwardly  considered,  the  aristocracy  developed  a  certain 
splendor  and  opulence,  and  presented  an  appearance  of  no  incon- 


RELIGIOUS    WARS  481 

1600-1712 

siderable  prosperity,  especially  in  the  administration.  The  general 
conditions  and  necessities  of  the  time  led  to  many  useful  institu- 
tions. France,  in  particular,  under  Richelieu  and  Louis  XIV.,  pre- 
sented an  example  of  an  ostentatious  political  administration,  which 
was  eagerly  imitated  both  by  princes  and  by  Republican  govern- 
ments. In  Berne,  Zurich,  Zug,  Basle,  and  even  in  Soleure,  Lu- 
cerne, and  Stans,  public  almshouses,  hospitals,  orphan  asylums, 
improved  houses  of  correction,  and  prisons,  were  established.  The 
governments  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Basle,  and  Zug  made  more  exten- 
sive provision  than  formerly  for  scholastic  institutions,  scientific 
collections  and  libraries,  for  commerce  and  industry.  In  Berne 
and  Zurich  the  government  bought  up  large  stores  of  fruit  to  aid 
the  country  districts  in  times  of  need  and  scarcity ;  about  the  middle 
of  the  century  a  postal  system,  imitating  that  of  other  lands,  was 
adopted  in  those  states;  and  in  1690  Berne  also  introduced  manu- 
factures at  the  expense  of  the  state.  A  number  of  splendid  public 
buildings  of  that  period,  in  the  late  Renaissance  style,  still  adorn 
the  principal  towns  of  Switzerland,  as  for  example  the  Rathaiiser 
in  Zurich  and  Lucerne.  Berne  drained  the  Kander,  raised  Morges 
into  a  place  of  considerable  trade,  and  endeavored  to  connect  the 
lakes  of  Neuchatel  and  Geneva. 

Soleure,  the  seat  of  the  French  ambassador,  and  Berne,  the 
haughty  patrician  city,  attained  the  greatest  magnificence.  The 
former  state  amassed  considerable  treasure,  so  that  it  was  able  to 
lend  vast  sums  to  the  French  Government,  and  to  erect  many  hand- 
some buildings,  such  as  the  arsenal,  the  embassy,  the  town  hall, 
water  supply  (Brunnenleihing) ,  and  the  bridge  of  Olten;  while 
Berne  made  all  the  arrangements  of  a  great  state.  The  govern- 
ment managed  the  several  branches  of  the  administration  by  means 
of  separate  chambers — the  chambers  of  war,  of  salt,  of  corn,  of 
trade,  and  of  appeal ;  Berne  was  also  able  to  lend  to  all  the  banks  of 
Europe,  and  her  public  treasure  excited  the  envy  and  covetousness 
of  other  nations.  The  authorities  of  the  various  states  vied  with 
one  another  in  their  efforts  to  further  the  material  welfare  of  their 
subjects  in  "  fatherly  "  fashion,  to  support  them  in  times  of  misfor- 
tune, of  bad  harvests,  of  famine,  etc.,  and  to  check  beggary,  pauper- 
ism, and  the  like  by  numerous  mandates.  Viewed  externally, 
many  parts  of  Switzerland  presented  a  more  cheering  appearance 
than  the  numerous  provinces  of  other  lands,  mostly  depopulated 
and  devastated  by  war. 


SWITZERLAND 

1600-1712 

Together  with  the  administration,  the  aristocracy  paid  special 
attention  to  science  and  art.  Beautiful  private  houses,  some  of 
them  absolute  palaces,  arose,  as  in  Berne,  Frauenfeld,  and  Schaff- 
hausen,  and  the  Fruler  palace  in  Nafels.  The  apartments  of 
wealthy  burghers  and  of  officials  and  all  public  buildings  were  beau- 
tifully decorated  and  furnished.  Paintings  on  glass  and  artistic 
stoves  formed  the  chief  decoration,  representing  historical  scenes, 
studies  from  nature  and  from  daily  life  with  wonderful  delicacy 
and  refinement,  and  bearing  witty  verses  and  merry  proverbs. 

Manifold  progress  was  made  in  the  higher  studies.  A  society 
in  Zurich  established  in  1630  the  public  library  for  citizens,  the 
town  library  at  the  Wasserkirche,  and  this  about  thirty  years  later 
already  numbered  6000  volumes;  in  1636  the  town  library  of 
Schaffhausen  was  founded,  while  the  libraries  of  Berne  and  Basle 
were  considerably  increased  and  extended.  From  the  ranks  of  the 
aristocracy,  especially  in  Zurich,  arose  notable  men  of  learning, 
who  cultivated  theology,  and  in  close  connection  with  that  the 
study  of  languages  and  history.  Johann  Heinrich  Hottinger,  of 
Zurich  (1620- 1 667),  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  masters  of 
Oriental  languages,  and  wrote  a  copious  universal  church  history; 
his  son,  Johann  Jakob,  wrote  a  history  of  the  church  in  Switzer- 
land. Johann  Heinrich  Heidegger  acquired  European  fame  by  his 
theological  writings,  as  did  Kaspar  Schweizer  by  his  knowledge  of 
Greek.  A  like  celebrity  was  attained  by  professors  of  languages 
and  theology  in  western  Switzerland,  among  them  Turretin  and 
Tonchin.  In  natural  sciences,  J.  J.  Scheuchzer,  of  Zurich,  and  the 
Bemoullis  in  Basle  specially  distinguished  themselves ;  as  chroniclers, 
J.  H.  Rahn  of  Zurich  and  Michael  Stettler  of  Berne;  as  topog- 
rapher, Mathias  Merian  of  Basle. 

Once  more  for  every  ray  of  light  there  was  also  a  shadow; 
narrow-mindedness  and  bigotry  reigned  supreme,  in  a  way  which 
it  is  now  hardly  possible  to  conceive.  As  regarded  intellectual  life, 
much  was  written  by  learned  men,  almost  without  exception  mem- 
bers of  the  aristocracy,  of  the  dominating  families.  These  authors 
wrote  in  Latin,  and  therefore  only  for  their  peers  and  not  for  the 
people.  The  subjects  of  their  writings  were  likewise  suited  almost 
entirely  to  learned  men  and  their  colleagues ;  the  sciences  were  con- 
fined to  the  study  and  the  lecture  hall,  and  did  not  come  in  contact 
with  life.  Higher  schools  were,  indeed,  provided,  but  on  the  other 
hand  hardly  anything  was  done  toward  educating  the  people.    The 


■*■  .a 


5  cS 


RELIGIOUS    WARS  '483 

1600-1712 

teachers  in  the  popular  schools  were  ignorant  artisans,  discharged 
soldiers,  or  uneducated  youths;  the  education  consisted  merely  in 
learning"  mechanically  by  rote  and  without  understanding"  religious 
matter  out  of  the  catechism  and  various  devotional  books.  By  this 
means  ignorance  was  systematically  cultivated,  and  the  minds  of 
the  people  were  stifled  rather  than  awakened.  Intellectual  life  was 
entirely  under  the  control  of  the  authorities,  secular  and  religious, 
who  feared  that  a  liberal  education  might  create  restlessness  among 
the  people.  Writings  which  displeased  the  authorities,  even  innocent 
poems  and  popular  songs,  were  unhesitatingly  suppressed;  every- 
thing had  to  undergo  the  censorship  of  severe  masters.  The  teach- 
ing of  Copernicus,  the  tenets  of  the  new  philosophers,  Spinoza, 
Descartes,  etc.,  were  prohibited  under  pain  of  the  most  severe 
punishments.  Rahn  of  Zurich  was  not  allowed  to  print  a  large 
Federal  history,  because  it  contained  much  that  was  offensive  to 
the  authorities ;  political  history  was  in  itself  considered  so  danger- 
ous that  it  was  in  many  states  not  admitted  among  the  professor- 
ships. 

Theology  presented  still  greater  difficulties,  for  the  clergy 
wielded  the  sword  of  the  executioner  as  well  as  the  government. 
It  was  not  enough  to  declare  the  very  letter  of  the  Bible  and  of  the 
church  prayers  holy  and  infallible;  everything  was  condemned 
which  did  not  absolutely  agree  with  those  letters.  (Consensus 
formula  of  1675.)  Scheuchzer  and  Bernoulli  suffered  many  at- 
tacks on  this  account  on  the  part  of  the  clergy ;  even  the  expression 
of  Scheuchzer :  "  God  is  everywhere  present !  "  was  reckoned  as 
heresy,  because  the  words  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  say  "  in  heaven." 
Thus  a  religious  coercion  was  practiced  which  almost  equaled  the 
Inquisition :  a  Jew  was  put  to  death  for  saying  that  Christ  was  the 
son  of  a  Jew ;  General  Rudolf  Werdmiiller,  a  remarkable  man,  one 
who  rose  far  above  the  superstitions  of  the  age,  but  indulged  in 
rough  jests  about  the  church  and  the  clergy,  suspected  of  heresy, 
of  witchcraft,  and  of  forming  a  league  with  the  devil,  was  con- 
demned, after  a  trial  of  six  years'  duration,  and  forced  to  quit  his 
country.  Michael  Zingg,  a  kindly  minister  and  professor  of  math- 
ematics in  Zurich,  was  called  to  account  in  1661  for  rejecting  the 
decisions  of  the  synod  of  Dortrecht  (1618),  which  sanctioned 
strictly  Calvinistic  views ;  they  threatened  to  behead  him,  and  even 
to  immure  him;  he  was  compelled  to  fly,  and  to  gain  a  scanty 
subsistence  as  an  exile. 


484.  SWITZERLAND 

1600-1720 

All  other  symptoms  of  life  among  the  people  were  as  carefully 
watched  as  their  opinions  and  confessions  of  faith.  The  restraints 
which  had  been  put  upon  industrial  activity  were  even  increased; 
foreign  imports  were  prohibited,  as  also  free  competition.  Raw 
material  might  not  be  procured  from  without,  but  must  be  bought 
in  the  town ;  and  the  peasant  was  not  allowed  to  sell  his  agricultural 
produce  where  he  would,  but  had  to  take  it  to  the  market  in  the 
town.  In  the  municipal  cantons  trade  and  manufactures  might 
only  be  carried  on  at  all  in  the  towns ;  if  anyone  wished  to  transact 
business  elsewhere,  he  was  obliged  to  get  permission  from  the  guild 
concerned,  and  any  opposition  was  severely  punished. 

No  less  heavy  were  the  fetters  which  lay  upon  social  and  civic 
life.  The  authorities  forbade  showy  and  fashionable  dress;  they 
prescribed  the  exact  form  and  color  of  garments;  dancing,  card- 
playing,  skittles,  etc.,  were  punished  by  fines  and  imprisonment; 
smoking  and  snuff  were  forbidden.  The  evil  moral  consequences 
of  misgovernment  were  not  wanting.  Johann  Kaspar  Escher,  the 
philanthropic  Bailiff  of  Kiburg,  about  1720,  lays  great  stress  upon 
this  in  his  account  of  the  time  of  his  administration.  Such  pro- 
hibitions, he  says,  gave  rise  to  secret  revels;  the  younger  genera- 
tion lost  all  heart  and  love  for  and  all  delight  in  their  fatherland, 
thinking  that  in  other  lands  there  was  more  liberty;  and  even  the 
country  folk  were  embittered  by  the  townsmen  being  in  all  things 
preferred  before  them,  which  was  most  unjust,  and  by  the  rich 
being  free  to  indulge  in  such  pleasures  openly  on  pajmient  of  money. 
But  the  voice  of  Escher  died  away,  like  that  of  many  a  nobler- 
minded  man,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  check  the  source  of  these 
abuses. 


PART  II 

MODERN  SWITZERLAND.    1712-1910 


Chapter  IX 

POLITICAL  DISUNION  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY; 

17 12-1798 

THE  political  conditions  of  the  Confederation  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century  were  somewhat  miserable.  After  the 
Toggenburg  war,  the  one  constant  thought  and  aim  of 
the  Catholic  states  was  to  recover  what  they  had  lost  in  that  war. 
They  pursued  their  efforts  for  this  restitution  for  about  eighty 
years  without  intermission.  In  171 5  they  concluded  with  France 
the  Trucklibund,  so  called  because  the  document  was  preserved  in 
a  closed  box,  and  thus  sought  the  help  of  that  power  to  coerce  Zurich 
and  Berne.  But  on  the  part  of  the  Protestants  also,  who  indulged 
in  a  malicious  triumph  after  the  war  of  Toggenburg,  there  reigned 
only  hatred  against  all  holding  other  views  than  their  own.  Both 
sides  regarded  their  fellow-confederates  of  the  other  faith  not  as 
brothers  in  league,  but  as  heretics  and  heathen,  from  whom  they 
must  keep  as  far  aloof  as  possible.  The  antagonism  rose  to  such  a 
height  that  in  Zurich  and  Berne  the  most  severe  punishments 
were  laid  by  order  of  the  state  upon  marriages  contracted  with 
Catholics. 

In  consequence  of  this  want  of  unity,  the  neutrality  of  Switzer- 
land could  with  difficulty  be  preserved  during  the  foreign  wars 
which  affected  her  in  any  way,  such  as  the  Polish  and  Austrian  war 
of  succession,  and  the  Seven  Years'  War.  Only  once  during  this 
century  was  any  united  action  taken  toward  a  foreign  land,  and 
that  was  in  August,  1777,  when  the  French  alliance  of  1663  was 
renewed  by  all  the  thirteen  cantons  at  Soleure.  But  this  was  only 
a  patched-up  agreement  due  to  foreign  influence,  for  the  French 
had  resorted  to  every  possible  art  of  bribery  and  corruption  in  order 
to  reconcile  all  the  states  of  that  league;  the  Confederates  had  not 
united  of  themselves,  and  a  hopeless  want  of  union  prevailed  after 
as  before.  "  Every  man  for  himself !  "  was  their  motto,  according 
to  a  contemporary.  Individuals  only  felt  themselves  to  be  citizens 
of  their  state  or  adherents  of  the  Catholic  or  Protestant  party,  but 
never  Swiss.     Every  state  had  its  own  coinage,  its  own  law;  if  a 

487 


488  SWITZERLAND 

1712-1798 

Swiss  wanted  to  settle  in  another  canton,  he  was  there  accounted 
almost  as  a  foreigner.  The  Defensionale  remained  forgotten,  the 
Diet  was  a  ponderous  machine;  the  execution  of  any  uniform  ar- 
rangements in  coinage,  or  the  police,  the  military,  or  the  legal  sys- 
tems was  always  frustrated  by  the  want  of  unity  and  the  selfishness 
of  the  states.  The  most  important  affairs  were  thus  protracted  for 
years  and  years,  either  not  settled  at  all,  or  only  after  many  years ; 
and  in  the  common  domains  the  most  urgent  reforms  were  neglected. 

Thus  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  Confederation  resembled  a 
weather-beaten  ruin,  ready  to  fall.  But  just  as  "  out  of  ruins  there 
springs  forth  a  new  young  world  of  fresh  verdure,"  so  even  in  this 
apparently  hopeless  period  "  bright  visions  began  to  appear,  pro- 
phetically foretelling  the  new  and  regenerate  Switzerland  of  the 
nineteenth  century." 

Although  in  political  matters  dissensions  prevailed,  yet  in 
intellectual  and  scientific  life  a  sense  of  the  unity  of  the  fatherland 
was  beginning  to  arise,  notably  in  the  Reformed  towns,  where  intel- 
lectual life  had  made  great  strides  since  the  success  of  the  war  of 
Toggenburg.  Men  began  to  study  their  own  position,  learned  to 
know  the  individuality  of  Switzerland,  and  drew  thence  the  hope 
of  a  brighter  future.  The  pioneers  of  the  movement  were 
Scheuchzer  of  Zurich,  and  Haller  of  Berne.  J.  J.  Scheuchzer 
(1672-1733),  physician  and  naturalist,  made  himself  famous  by 
various  journeys  into  the  Swiss  Alps,  wrote  the  first  natural  history 
of  Switzerland,  and  also  completed  a  large  map  of  Switzerland,  by 
which  labors  he  put  new  life  into  patriotism.  Albrecht  von  Haller 
{ob.  1777),  the  great  poet  and  naturalist,  by  unrivaled  industry 
acquired  an  extensive  and  learned  education;  he  also  possessed  a 
strong  poetic  vein,  and  a  warm  and  patriotic  heart.  Among  his 
poems  which  appeared  in  1732,  "  Die  Alpen"  ("  The  Alps  ")  made 
a  great  impression  by  its  poetic  depth  and  the  novelty  of  its  ideas. 
Full  of  indignation  at  the  depravity  of  the  time,  and  yearning  for 
natural  and  unspoiled  conditions,  he  there  depicts  with  vigorous 
touches  the  life  of  nature  and  of  men  in  the  Alps,  the  simple  beau- 
tiful customs  of  the  Alpine  folk,  with  a  patriotic  warmth  and 
enthusiasm  before  unknown.  In  another  poem,  "  Der  Mann  der 
Welt"  ("  The  Man  of  the  World  "),  he  laments  the  degeneration 
of  his  fatherland ;  in  a  third,  "  Die  verdorbenen  Sitten  "  (  "  Demor- 
alization "),  in  contradistinction  to  the  good  old  times,  he  apostro- 
phizes the  decay  of  his  own  day,  exclaiming,  "  O   Helvetia !   once 


POLITICAL     DISUNION  489 

1712-1798 

the  land  of  heroes,  how  is  it  possible  that  the  men  whom  we  now 
behold  could  have  descended  from  thy  former  inhabitants  ?  "  ^  By 
his  poems  and  his  researches  in  natural  science  Haller  became  so 
famous  in  other  lands  that  he  received  a  number  of  honorable  calls, 
but  declined  them  all,  as  he  wanted  to  devote  his  powers  to  his 
beloved  country,  and  from  1753  until  his  end  he  served  her  as  a 
government  official  with  affectionate  devotion  and  self-sacrifice. 

In  addition  to  these  motions  on  the  part  of  the  Swiss  them- 
selves we  find  the  influence  of  other  lands,  England,  France,  and 
Germany,  in  whose  newly  awakened  intellectual  life  the  learned 
men  of  Switzerland  took  a  lively  interest.  The  writings  of 
Montesquieu  and  Rousseau,  and  of  all  those  men,  burning  with 
love  of  liberty  and  of  their  fellow-men,  who  in  England  and  France 
were  fighting  against  the  intellectual  bondage  and  political  oppres- 
sion under  which  the  people  lay,  were  eagerly  read ;  Rousseau  him- 
self, a  chief  supporter  of  the  new  political  and  social  ideas  as  to  the 
welfare  of  the  people  and  popular  government,  was  a  citizen  of 
Geneva;  hence  his  writings  made  a  great  sensation  in  western 
Switzerland.  On  the  lovely  shores  of  the  lake  of  Geneva  eminent 
writers  from  both  France  and  England  spent  much  time  together 
• — Voltaire  at  Lausanne  and  Ferney,  and  Gibbon,  the  historian 
of  the  Roman  empire,  at  Lausanne — and  disseminated  their  views ; 
and  intellectual  societies,  such  as  were  in  vogue  in  France,  here 
also  invited  both  natives  and  foreigners  to  enjoyments  of  a  high 
order. 

Switzerland  took  no  less  interest  in  the  development  of 
German  literature.  At  that  time  a  close  connection  was  formed 
between  German  and  Swiss  literature,  and  Johann  Bodmer  and 
Johann  Breitinger,  both  of  Zurich,  incited  by  English  authors, 
opened  a  contest  with  Gottsched  and  his  school,  in  1740,  in  order 
to  establish  the  principles  of  the  art  of  genuine,  true,  and  pure 
poetry,  and  thus  prepared  the  way  for  the  great  classical  poets  of 
Germany — Klopstock,  Herder,  and  Goethe.  Following  the  example 
of  England  and  Germany,  Bodmer  also  brought  about  the  forma- 
tion of  learned  societies,  which  facilitated  a  more  lively  exchange  of 
thought  among  Swiss  men  of  letters.  Thus  Zurich  became  the 
center  of  an  active  and  eminently  productive  intellectual  life,  and 

*  5*0^  an,  Helvetien,  du  H eldenvaterland, 
Wie  ist  dein  altes  Volk  dent  jetsigen  verwandtT 

(Translation  by  Mrs.  Howorth,  1794.) 


490  SWITZERLAND 

1712-1798 

here,  too,  Grerman  writers,  such  as  Klopstock,  Wieland,  Kleist, 
Goethe,  and  Fichte,  loved  to  sojourn. 

All  these  stirring  influences  gradually  led  to  the  intellectual 
regeneration  of  the  whole  Swiss  people.  Day  began  to  dawn  on 
all  sides.  Existing  conditions  were  measured  by  the  requirements 
of  the  new  ideas,  actual  facts  aroused  numerous  complaints,  and 
from  theories  men  proceeded  to  practical  suggestions  for  the  im- 
provement of  matters  in  the  state,  the  church,  and  in  social  and 
intellectual  life. 

Bodmer  was  already  working  zealously  in  this  direction,  and 
gave  a  great  impulse  to  all  efforts  aiming  at  the  public  good  and  the 
improvement  of  the  conditions  of  the  people.  In  Basle  Isaak 
Iselin,  philanthropist,  labored,  both  by  his  words  and  writings,  for 
the  improvement  of  social  conditions.  Then,  in  1758,  Franz  Urs 
Balthasar  of  Lucerne  published  his  work,  "  Patriotische  Trdume 
eines  Eidgenossen  von  einem  Mittel,  die  veraltete  Eidgenossenschaft 
wieder  zu  verjiingen,"  ^  in  which  he  recommends  the  erection  of  a 
national  Swiss  institute  of  education,  where  youthful  aristocrats 
should  be  trained  to  become  useful  citizens  and  politicians,  and 
might  be  taught  the  history  and  politics  of  Switzerland  and  mili- 
tary science.  Only  by  such  means  could  love  and  unity,  long 
torpid,  be  reawakened,  and  Switzerland  preserved  from  threatened 
ruin.  Salomon  Gessner,  poet  of  Zurich,  wrote  at  this  same  time 
his  widely  read  "  Idylls,"  in  which  he  extolled  the  simple,  contented 
rural  and  shepherd  life  as  compared  with  the  pleasure-seeking, 
luxurious  life  of  the  rich  and  great.  A  definite  example  in  illus- 
tration of  this  was  given  by  his  friend,  Dr.  Hans  Kaspar  Hirzel, 
the  famous  physician  of  Zurich,  a  noble  and  genial  philanthropist, 
in  his  story  of  the  so-called  Farmer  Kleinjogg.  Kleinjogg,  really 
Jacob  Gujer,  was  a  farmer  at  Wermatsweil  (in  the  commune  of 
Uster),  distinguished  by  his  penetration,  his  wit,  and  also  by  his 
diligence,  who  by  his  thrift  and  his  admirably  sensible  agricultural 
management  converted  the  worst  farm  of  the  neighborhood  into  a 
flourishing  model  farm.  "  He  made  use  of  every  blade  of  straw, 
every  twig  of  pine-wood,  every  moment."  By  his  representation 
and  description  of  the  activity  of  this  remarkable  peasant  Hirzel 
sought  to  influence  a  wider  circle,  and  to  put  before  "  the  selfish, 
idle  aristocracy  a  faithful  picture  of  Swiss  manhood  and  ability, 

*"The   patriotic   dreams   of   a   Confederate  of   a   way   to   rejuvenate  the 
ancient  Confederation." 


POLITICAL    DISUNION  491 

1712-1798 

such  as  was  still  to  be  found  among  the  people."  Such  words  and 
hints  quickly  kindled  all  noble  spirits,  and  soon  the  scattered  voices 
of  the  friends  of  reform  were  joined  in  one  chorus  "  to  make  hearts 
tremble  with  the  thunder  of  patriotic  enthusiasm." 

In  the  year  1762  a  circle  of  zealous  patriots,  incited  by  Bal- 
thasar's  work,  was  formed  at  Schinznach,  called  the  "  Helvetic  So- 
ciety," and  including-  Gessner,  Hirzel,  and  Iselin.  As  time  went  on 
this  society  united  all  the  most  famous  men  both  of  French  and 
German  Switzerland  in  annual  meetings,  whose  aim  was  the  en- 
thusiastic awakening  of  the  consciousness  of  Swiss  interdependence. 
While,  broadly  speaking,  religious  differences  still  divided  the 
Confederation  into  two  hostile  camps,  in  this  society  Reformed  and 
Catholic  Swiss  lived  together  on  terms  of  cordiality;  in  familiar 
intercourse  they  learned  mutual  respect,  and  in  pure  love  of  their 
country  they  felt  themselves  at  one.  From  that  time  they  returned 
home  from  their  gatherings  encouraged,  and,  disseminating  their 
public  spirit  throughout  the  states,  the  scattered  seed  slowly  sprang 
up.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  society  the  young  Johann  Caspar 
Lavater,  of  Zurich,  composed  the  popular  "  Schweizerlieder,''  con- 
demning dissensions,  and  extolling  unity  as  the  chief  source  of 
national  prosperity: 

"  What  is  it  alone  can  save  us 

When  all  power  and  wealth  do  fail? 
Union  only,  brothers,  union! 

Pray  for  this,  and  thus  prevail! 
Steadfast  in  the  midst  of  danger, 
'      Conquering  ever  in  the  fight, 
Never  missed  the  Swiss  their  purpose 
By  the  force  of  union's  might."  » 

These  songs  became  "  Songs  of  the  People  "  in  a  very  real 
sense,  and  were  sung  almost  throughout  Switzerland  by  men  and 
women,  old  and  young.  The  Helvetic  Society,  however,  went  still 
further,  and  sometimes  included  within  the  sphere  of  its  labors 
criticisms  upon  the  degradation  in  public  matters,  the  improvement 

»  "  Wer  ist's,  der  uns  schutst  und  rettet, 

Wenn  es  Macht  und  Gold  nicht  kannf 
Eintrachtf    Eintracht!    Briider,  betet, 

Fleht  Gott  nur  urn  Eintracht  an. 
Unbeweglich  in  Gefahren, 

Unbesiegbar  in  dem  Streit, 
Alles,  was  sie  wollten,  war  en 

Schweizer  stets  dutch  Einigkeit." 


492  SWITZERLAND 

1712-1798 

of  morals,  and  the  removal  of  prejudices;  within  it  were  focused 
all  efforts  at  reform  in  the  domains  of  intellect  and  of  public  utility, 
partly  because  it  prompted  such  efforts  itself,  and  partly  because  it 
was  joined  by  most  of  the  advocates  of  reform. 

Iselin  of  Basle,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  society,  who  had  im- 
bibed enlightened  principles  from  French  authors,  ventured  early, 
though  indeed  diffidently,  to  attack  the  privileges  of  the  governing 
class  and  the  inequalities  of  rank.  The  energetic  younger  genera- 
tion, however,  threw  itself  cheerfully  and  unhesitatingly  into  the 
new  movement,  and  adopted  his  views  in  thorough  earnest.  Some 
young  men  of  Zurich — Lavater,  Schinz,  Fiissli,  Escher,  and  Pesta- 
lozzi — formed  a  league,  in  order  to  initiate  immediate  reforms  in 
the  territory  of  Zurich ;  they  prosecuted  all  instances  of  oppression 
and  injustice  on  the  part  of  bailiffs  and  municipal  officers,  and  at- 
tacked worthless  ministers,  while  seeking  to  support  the  poor  and 
lowly  in  their  demands  to  extend  the  rights  of  the  people.  When 
Grebel,  the  aristocratic  bailiff  in  Gruningen,  like  some  of  his  col- 
leagues, practiced  extortion  and  corruption,  and  the  complainants 
could  get  no  redress,  Lavater,  then  a  youth  of  twenty-one,  burning 
with  a  noble  indignation,  wrote  his  work,  "  The  Unjust  Bailiff,  or 
the  Complaint  of  a  Patriot,"  and  would  not  rest  till  Grebel  was  put 
upon  his  trial.  This  bold  course  of  action  created  a  great  sensa- 
tion throughout  Switzerland.  Individual  leaders  of  the  Helvetic 
Society  went  still  further  in  their  demands.  Canon  Gugger  of 
Soleure  (1773),  as  president  of  the  society,  vigorously  opposed 
place-hunting  and  office-seeking,  and  also  all  ideas  of  subjection, 
and  maintained  Rousseau's  principle — that  the  highest  authority 
lies  with  the  people.  Stockar  of  Schaffhausen  lamented  bitterly 
in  1777  that  the  noble  ideal  of  a  common  fatherland  was  as  yet 
unrealized,  and  desired  national  representation ;  he  expressed  the 
daring  wish,  which  as  yet  had  escaped  the  lips  of  no  man,  that  the 
divers  free  states  of  Switzerland  might  be  merged  into  one  sin- 
gle state,  whose  burghers  should  all  have  equal  rights,  and 
be  under  equal  obligations.  Others  denounced  foreign  military 
service,  and  were  eager  for  an  increase  of  the  Swiss  military  force 
and  a  uniform  military  system.  Such  manifestations  seemed  dan- 
gerous to  the  alarmed  authorities,  who  trembled  for  their  privi- 
leges ;  Berne,  Soleure,  and  Fribourg  therefore  issued  formal  prohi- 
bitions against  the  society.  The  latter,  however,  defied  all  perse- 
cution, and  remained  the  steadfast  refuge  of  all  efforts  of  high 


POLITICAL    DISUNION  498 

1712-1798 

purpose.  Besides  the  improvement  of  public  conditions,  its  chief 
aim  was  the  advancement  of  education  and  the  system  of  schools; 
the  ideas  of  Bodmer  and  Balthasar  were  discussed,  and  Iselin,  in 
particular,  was  urgent  for  an  improvement  in  education.  The  so- 
ciety encouraged  various  practical  attempts  at  a  new  method  of 
education  and  instruction,  and  within  its  ranks  the  notion  of  a 
common  Federal  university,  and  of  the  introduction  of  better  popu- 
lar schools,  found  many  adherents  and  supporters. 

The  chief  effect  on  private  life  of  this  tendency  toward  a  gen- 
eral reorganization  was  an  increase  of  industrial  activity.  In 
Zurich,  in  addition  to  the  silk  industry,  a  remarkable  impulse  was 
given  to  cotton  and  woolen  manufactures,  in  Basle  to  the  weaving 
of  silk  ribbons ;  while  St.  Gall  became  one  of  the  most  flourishing 
towns  through  its  linen  trade,  cotton  manufactures,  and  embroidery. 
Muslin  embroidery  was  brought  to  great  perfection  in  Appenzell, 
Outer  Rhodes.  The  industrial  spirit  even  spread  to  the  mountain- 
ous districts  of  Switzerland,  hitherto  quite  shut  off.  In  the  high- 
lying  district  of  La  Chaux  de  Fonds  manufactures  of  watches  and 
jewelry  were  commenced,  as  also  in  Geneva;  in  Glarus  cotton 
spinning  formed  the  most  considerable  branch  of  industry;  in  the 
canton  of  Berne  the  fabrication  of  velvets,  silks,  and  cloths  was 
commenced;  even  in  the  remote  valleys  of  Emmen  and  Engelberg 
weaving  and  spinning  were  established,  and  about  the  middle  of 
the  century  Schwyz  and  Gersau  also  applied  themselves  to  these 
industries.  Switzerland  adopted  the  use  of  machinery  at  an  early 
period.  This  peaceable  industrial  activity  soon  led  to  the  decline 
of  mercenary  service;  the  French  cabinet  expressed  its  regret  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Swiss  cantons  had  become  merchants  rather 
than  soldiers,  and  that  the  Swiss  were  retiring  more  and  more  from 
military  service,  and  working  peacefully  in  factories. 

The  advancement  of  industry  was  followed  by  that  of  agricul- 
ture. The  agricultural  societies  in  Berne,  Zurich,  and  Basle 
labored  specially  to  this  end ;  through  their  exertions  the  cultivation 
of  new  products,  such  as  clover,  lucerne,  esparcet,  and  potatoes,  was 
introduced,  in  addition  to  the  artificial  irrigation  of  meadows,  stall- 
feeding,  the  breaking  up  of  fallow  ground  and  other  innovations, 
now  long  since  become  general.  The  authorities  and  societies 
further  labored  zealously  to  facilitate  traffic  by  improving  the  roads. 
Good  roads  were  become  so  much  the  more  necessary  since  in  other 
lands  men  were  beginning  to  appreciate  the  beauties  of  the  Swiss 


494.  SWITZERLAND 

1712-1798 

'Alps  and  glaciers,  and  to  travel  frequently  in  Switzerland.  There 
were  certainly  great  difficulties  to  be  overcome — chasms  must  be 
filled  in,  rocks  and  boulders  blasted,  and  costly  bridges  built;  but 
skill  and  perseverance  overcame  them.  The  states  of  Berne, 
Zurich,  the  Grisons,  Basle,  and  Glarus  distinguished  themselves  by 
their  good  roads;  over  the  Passwang,  the  Gemmi,  the  Hauenstein, 
highways  were  constructed.  The  brothers  Grubenmann,  of  Ap- 
penzell,  were  among  the  most  accomplished  builders  of  bridges  of 
that  day :  the  bridge  over  the  Rhine  at  Schaffhausen,  that  over  the 
Limmat  at  Wettingen,  and  many  of  the  bridges  in  Glarus  were  con- 
structed in  the  years  from  1750  to  1760.  In  the  course  of  the  century, 
moreover,  and  especially  in  the  latter  half,  numerous  benevolent 
institutions  and  public  buildings  were  erected,  such  as  orphanages, 
infirmaries,  magazines,  loan  offices,  and  savings  banks. 

Hand  in  hand  with  such  material  progress  we  find  an  improve- 
ment in  social  life.  In  individual  cantons  smaller  societies  were 
laboring,  like  the  Helvetic  Society  throughout  Switzerland,  toward 
intellectual  and  economical  progress,  and  were  inculcating  a 
love  for  the  arts  and  sciences,  enlightenment  and  public  utility.  In 
1779,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Helvetic  Society,  a  Swiss  military 
association  was  started,  aiming  at  a  fundamental  improvement  of 
the  Swiss  military  system  with  a  view  to  greater  uniformity.  In 
Zurich,  Basle,  Berne,  Geneva,  and  Lausanne  reading  clubs  were 
formed,  and  societies  of  all  kinds — naturalist,  agricultural,  benefi- 
cent, musical,  etc.,  and  in  Zurich  a  society  of  artists;  while  even 
smaller  places,  such  as  Rolle  and  Yverdon  in  the  Vaud,  and 
Wadenswil,  Stafa,  Winterthur,  etc.,  in  the  canton  of  Zurich,  had 
their  reading  and  musical  societies,  and  realized  the  necessity  of 
intellectual  education.  Printing  offices  increased  in  number,  and 
were  kept  fully  occupied  in  satisfying  this  intellectual  craving.  Thus 
an  exceedingly  abundant  and  enlightened  literature  was  produced, 
which  permeated  all  classes,  and  produced  an  essential  alteration  in 
the  views  of  that  time.  The  different  societies  themselves  started 
periodicals  (Museen,  Bibliotheken)  for  the  instruction  of  the 
people  by  means  of  reliable  treatises  on  historical,  philosophical, 
and  public  subjects,  Fasi  and  Fiissli  produced  excellent  Swiss 
political  and  physical  geographies ;  Saussure,  the  great  naturalist  of 
Geneva,  graphic  descriptions  of  travels ;  Ebel,  a  German,  wrote  the 
first  Swiss  guide  book;  the  aesthetic  Sulzer,  of  Winterthur,  propa- 
gated new  ideas  on  art,  and  Lavater  on  religion,  philosophy,  and 


POLITICAL    DISUNION  496 

1712-1798 

physiognomy.  But  the  chief  distinction  was  attained  by  the  Swiss 
historian,  Johann  von  Miiller  of  Schaflfhausen  in  1780,  who  made 
the  first  attempt  at  a  popular  history  that  could  be  enjoyed  by  all 
classes.  Miiller  embraced  the  history  of  the  Confederation  as  a 
great  whole,  and  for  the  invigorating  and  strengthening  of  patriotic 
feeling,  wrote  it  in  the  lofty,  fine,  and  thrilling  style  of  the  ancient 
classics.  His  contemporaries  felt  its  elevating  influence,  and  "  once 
more  believed  in  their  fatherland."  * 

A  splendid  impulse  was  given  to  art  as  well  as  to  literature. 
A  number  of  very  remarkable  churches  in  the  baroque  and  old- 
fashioned '^  or  antique  style  date  from  that  period  in  Schwyz,  St. 
Gall,  Berne,  and  Soleure.  There  are  also  handsome  secular  build- 
ings in  the  antique  style  which  are  even  yet  worthy  of  note,  such 
as  the  houses  in  Zurich  called  the  "  Crown  "  and  the  "  Titmouse," 
the  white  and  blue  house  in  Basle,  and  houses  in  Soleure  and  Frauen- 
feld.  Landscape  and  portrait  painting  were  greatly  developed,  as 
also  the  art  of  copperplate  engraving.  Men  talked  and  wrote  about 
art  and  the  history  of  art.  Churches  and  schools,  too,  were  fain  to 
fall  in  with  the  new  modes  of  thought.  A  more  liberal  spirit  sprang 
up  in  them,  and  orthodoxy  was  confronted  by  rationalism.  Little  by 
little  men  threw  off  the  restraints  of  church  and  creed,  little  by  little 
modern  tolerance  forced  its  way.  In  the  Catholic  church  a  storm 
broke  out  against  the  Jesuits,  which  led  to  the  suppression  of  the 
order  in  1773.  The  improvement  of  the  scholastic  and  educational 
system  was  zealously  pursued.  A  brilliant  commencement  was 
made  by  Dr.  Planta,  a  Grison,  who  founded  an  educational  institu- 
tion at  Haldenstein  in  1761,  in  which  the  way  was  paved  for 
instruction  by  object-lessons  according  to  the  principles  of  philan- 
thropists, and  special  preference  was  given  to  the  sciences  most 
useful  in  daily  life ;  while  at  the  same  time  the  sense  of  a  common 
humanity,  patriotic  virtues,  and  religious  toleration  were  strength- 
ened and  nourished.  The  Helvetic  Society  encouraged  this  estab- 
lishment, which  seemed  to  realize  Balthasar's  dream,  and  a  number 
of  distinguished  men,  who  labored  in  succession  for  the  reforma- 
tion of  their  country,  were  trained  at  this  fine  institution.  Other 
institutions  besides  Haldenstein  soon  sprang  into  existence,  and  the 
various  states,  such  as  Zurich  and  Berne,  also  improved  their 
schools,    both  the  higher  town  schools  and  the  lower  rural  schools, 

*  An  expression  used  by  Miilinen,  then  studying  in  foreig^n  lands. 

"  Somewhat  similar  to  the  contemporaneous  Georgian  style  in  England. 


496  SWITZERLAND 

1712-1798 

and  special  attention  was  paid  to  the  education  and  development 
of  girls. 

For  the  better  advancement  of  their  plans  and  ideas,  the 
Helvetic  Society  offered  prizes  for  the  best  suggestions  for  the 
improvement  of  the  educational  system.  This  had  a  specially 
stirring  influence  upon  the  man  who,  more  than  any  other,  devoted 
his  whole  life  to  the  task  of  educating  the  people.  This  man  was 
Johann  Heinrich  Pestalozzi  of  Zurich.  The  ignorance  of  the  school- 
teachers, the  unkind  treatment  of  the  children,  and  the  stultifying, 
arbitrary  methods  of  instruction  filled  him  with  indignation.  The 
hitherto  existing  institutions  for  popular  education  seemed  to  him 
to  be  merely  "  artful  machines  for  suffocation."  When  he  put  his 
own  hand  to  the  work,  he  resolved  to  begin  where  the  need 
was  greatest — with  the  lowest  and  most  abandoned  classes  of  the 
population,  and  in  1776  gathered  poor  children  around  him  on 
his  country  estate  of  "  Neuhof "  near  Hapsburg  in  the  Aargau, 
and  endeavored  to  arouse  and  develop  their  physical,  mental, 
and  moral  powers  by  manual  labor,  mental  and  verbal  exer- 
cises, mental  arithmetic,  reading,  and  writing.  But  not  being 
sufficiently  supported  by  the  authorities,  this  fine  undertaking  fell 
through  in  1780  for  want  of  means  for  its  maintenance.  He  now 
tried  to  spread  his  views  by  his  words  and  writings,  and  among 
other  things  in  1781,  wrote  his  famous  and  popular  book,  "  Lienhard 
und  Gertrnd,"  in  which  he  draws,  in  the  portrait  of  Hummel  the 
bailiff,  a  thrilling  picture  of  the  degeneracy  of  the  governmental 
system,  while  on  the  other  hand  in  Gertrud  and  her  household  he 
represents  the  beneficial  effects  of  a  loving  and  religious  moral 
training. 

But  in  spite  of  all  efforts  Pestalozzi  was  unable  to  achieve 
any  new  practical  results,  and  was  still  forced  to  build  all  his  hopes 
of  support  upon  the  future.  It  was  useless  to  think  of  any  Federal 
measures  being  taken  so  long  as  the  old  and  rotten  political  fabric 
existed.  And  this  remained  absolutely  untouched,  in  spite  of  the 
urgent  wishes  and  entreaties  which  were  from  time  to  time  ex- 
pressed in  the  Helvetic  Society.  No  attempt  was  ventured  to 
strengthen  the  central  authority,  and  to  give  the  people  a  share  in 
the  government.  It  is  true  that  in  1778  certain  patricians  of  Berne 
made  the  suggestion  that  the  subject-lands  should  at  least  be  put 
upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  allied  states,  but  the  matter  ended 
in  good  intentions.      Men  preached  to  deaf  ears;  the  majority  of 


JOHANN    HF.IXRICH    PESTALOZZI 

(Born    1746.      Died    1827) 

Painting    by    G.    F.    A.    Schoner 


POLITICAL     DISUNION  497 

the  governing  body  were  unwilling  to  deprive  themselves  of  their 
privileges,  and  did  their  utmost  toward  the  preservation  of  existing 
conditions.  Thus  there  remained  to  the  oppressed  no  means  of 
acquiring  their  rights  but  those  of  violence. 

In  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  aristocracy  became 
only  more  bigoted,  willfully  closing  its  eyes  to  the  evil  results  of 
the  system  of  government.  In  Berne  the  circle  of  families  entitled 
to  a  share  in  the  government  became  ever  narrower;  in  1776  there 
were  only  eighteen  families  represented  in  the  Council  of  the  Two 
Hundred,  among  whom  were  six  of  the  family  of  Eriach,  eight 
of  Diesbach,  eleven  of  Tschamer,  twelve  of  Sturler,  thirteen  of 
Wattenwyl,  of  Graffenried,  etc.  Under  pain  of  imprisonment 
artisans  and  other  persons  were  forbidden  to  carry  any  wares  under 
the  arcades  (arbors  or  walks),  that  the  patricians  and  their  wives 
might  be  able  to  walk  in  comfort ;  and  they  always  first  of  all  chose 
the  finest  and  best  at  the  daily  vegetable  market,  while  other  citizens 
were  not  admitted  until  eleven  o'clock,  and  were  obliged  to  content 
themselves  with  what  was  left.  Hunting  was  permitted  to  patri- 
cians only,  and  they  alone  might  give  balls  as  often  as  they  pleased ; 
exception  after  exception  was  made  in  their  favor  in  the  sumptuary 
laws,  and  if  a  patrician  offended  against  the  laws  of  the  state,  he 
was  treated  far  more  leniently  than  other  people ;  in  severe  cases  at 
the  utmost  he  was  banished  to  his  country  estate,  or  secretly  ordered 
tp  absent  himself  from  his  home.  In  Lucerne,  too,  the  patricians 
mutually  blinked  at  one  another's  offenses  and  defalcations.  The 
arrogant  bearing  of  the  citizens  of  Zurich  toward  the  country  folk 
likewise  increased,  and  they  even  grudged  to  the  town  of  Winter- 
thur  the  development  of  her  industry,  and  prevented  the  introduc- 
tion of  silk  manufactures  there;  the  citizens  of  Zurich  claimed  a 
monopoly  of  the  latter,  and  whoever  infringed  their  privilege  was 
severely  punished. 

During  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  spirit  of  opposi- 
tion, which  became  more  and  more  pronounced,  was  aroused  against 
such  narrow-mindedness.  The  sense  of  injustice,  the  ever-in- 
creasing enlightenment,  the  new  views  concerning  the  welfare  and 
sovereign  rights  of  the  people,  which  had  found  their  way  from 
England  and  France  by  means  of  numerous  pamphlets  and  were 
eagerly  welcomed — all  combined  to  arouse  the  bitterest  hatred 
among  the  people,  and  to  drive  them  at  length  to  action. 

The  first  impulse  to  violent  revolt  against  the  aristocracy  was 


498  SWITZERLAND 

1712-1798 

given  by  Geneva,  which  state  was,  in  fact,  only  connected  with  the 
Confederation  at  all  through  Zurich  and  Berne,  and  had  hitherto 
had  little  influence  upon  the  course  of  Federal  affairs.  The  power 
of  the  Genevese  aristocracy  was  vested  in  the  smaller  council,  which 
filled  any  vacancies  in  the  great  council  and  almost  all  other  offices, 
while  the  conseil  general  itself,  or  the  community  of  the  burghers, 
had  lost  the  right  of  legislation.  The  small  council  consisted  of 
twenty-five  members,  who  were  appointed  from  the  few  governing 
families.  Meanwhile  a  democratic  and  antagonistic  element  had 
sprung  up  gradually  among  the  many  French  settlers  who  had  found 
a  new  home  in  Geneva.  Quite  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  in 
1707,  a  committee  of  the  council,  at  whose  head  was  Pierre  Fatio  the 
lawyer,  under  pressure  from  the  people,  required  the  abolition  of 
the  one-sided  system  of  government  by  families,  the  regular  assem- 
bling of  the  conseil  general,  and  free  initiative.  The  movement, 
however,  was  suppressed  by  military  interference,  imprisonment 
and  executions,  Fatio  himself  being  thrown  into  prison.  After- 
ward, when  the  government  caused  costly  fortifications  to  be 
erected  in  a  despotical  manner,  the  democratic  party  arose,  and  in 
1737  were  victorious  in  the  struggle,  and  extorted  a  recognition  of 
the  principle  that  the  highest  authority,  the  choice  of  officers,  the 
right  of  making  war  and  peace,  and  the  right  of  legislation  and 
taxation  should  rest  with  the  burghers  (Burgergemeinde) . 

This  victory  of  the  popular  faction  in  Geneva  soon  had  its 
effect  upon  Berne.  From  the  year  17 10  attack  after  attack, 
lampoon  after  lampoon,  had  followed  one  another  in  quick  suc- 
cession, directed  against  the  aristocracy;  special  exception  was 
taken  to  the  claim  made  by  the  patricians  of  the  sole  right  over 
official  appointments.  The  patricians  mockingly  observed  that  the 
citizens  must  be  stripped  of  their  feathers,  that  they  might  not 
want  to  fly.  New  petitions  were,  however,  presented,  and  in  1744 
a  proclamation  was  issued,  calling  upon  the  burghers  to  help  them- 
selves as  the  Genevese  had  done.  Those  concerned  were  punished 
by  banishment,  among  them  Samuel  Henzi,  a  cultivated  and  en- 
lightened citizen,  famous  as  a  clever  French  poet  and  author.  The 
latter  being  pardoned  before  the  expiration  of  his  term,  thought  of 
entering  the  Modenese  service  as  a  means  of  earning  a  livelihood, 
but  being  prevented,  and  so  remaining  in  Berne,  was  entangled  in 
fresh  political  agitations  in  1749.  He  showed  some  disposition  to 
take  part  in  fresh  efforts  at  petitions ;  but  the  leaders,  Wernier  and 


POLITICAL    DISUNION  499 

1712-1798 

Fueter,  spoke  of  a  conspiracy,  the  overthrow  of  the  government, 
burning  of  the  town,  etc.  Everything  was  betrayed,  and  the  name 
of  Samuel  Henzi  was  specially  coupled  with  those  of  Wernier  and 
Fueter  as  one  of  the  chief  ringleaders.  The  government,  filled  with 
terror  and  dismay,  took  stringent  measures,  and  all  those  already 
named  paid  the  penalty  with  their  lives  upon  the  scaffold.  But 
such  severity  did  not  avail  to  restore  respect  for  the  patricians,  and 
thenceforward  the  government  was  never  safe  from  conspiracies. 

Violent  storms  shook  the  patriciate  of  Lucerne.  The  citizens 
there  had  long  complained  that  the  authorities  purchased  domains, 
concluded  alliances,  appropriated  French  annuities,  etc.,  without 
consulting  them.  An  ecclesiastical  dispute  added  fuel  to  the  fire 
of  dissension.  A  patrician  of  Lucerne  had  in  1768  published  a 
work  on  the  rights  of  the  state  as  opposed  to  those  of  the  church, 
and  showed  how  the  Swiss  should  guard  against  the  encroach- 
ments of  Rome;  another  work  demanded  the  abolition  of  the  re- 
ligious orders  and  restrictions  upon  monasteries.  A  family  quarrel 
was  added  to  these  agitations,  for  at  the  head  of  the  patricians  at 
that  time  stood  the  family  of  Meyer,  which  was  attacked  with  great 
violence  by  the  family  of  Schuhmacher.  Placidus  Schuhmacher, 
whose  father  had  been  ruined  by  one  of  the  Meyers,  sought  help 
from  the  burgesses  during  the  despotism,  of  Valentine  Meyer  by 
adopting  their  cause  and  seeking  to  defend  their  rights;  he  was, 
however,  executed  in  1764  on  the  plea  of  his  having  concocted  a 
secret  plot.  The  Schuhmacher  family  next  tried  to  get  at  their 
mortal  enemies  from  another  point.  Valentine  Meyer  being  held 
to  be  the  author  of  the  work  against  the  monasteries,  they  availed 
themselves  of  the  agitation  stirred  up  by  the  clergy  for  the  over- 
throw of  their  foes.  There  was  nothing  to  be  gained  for  the  popu- 
lar rights  from  these  disputes,  and  they  were  forgotten:  it  was 
even  forbidden  to  talk  over  the  sentences  and  mandates  of  the 
authorities. 

The  government  of  Soleure  pursued  a  similar  course,  upon 
some  citizens  censuring  prevalent  abuses ;  and  Zurich  too  was  not 
behind  the  rest  in  severity.  When  in  1777  the  authorities  violated 
the  right  of  the  community  legally  established  in  171 3  of  being 
consulted  'in  alliances,  by  concluding  the  French  alliance,  disturb- 
ances arose  among  the  citizens,  in  which  the  old  Pastor  Waser 
played  a  leading  part.  The  latter  had  been  previously  unjustly 
deprived  of  his  office,  and  threw  himself  with  zeal  and  success  into 


500  SWITZERLAND 

1712-1798 

all  researches  in  natural  history,  history,  agriculture,  and  statistics. 
In  revenge  he  wrote  articles  in  the  journal  of  statistics  of  Professor 
Schlozer  in  Gottingen,  touching  upon  divers  abuses  in  the  political 
system  of  Zurich,  and  revealing  political  conditions  hitherto  kept 
secret.  For  this  he  was  brought  to  trial,  found  guilty  of  high 
treason,  and  condemned  to  death  in  1780. 

Opposition  against  the  aristocracy  and  the  governing  class  was 
about  this  time  aroused  among  the  burghers  of  Fribourg,  and  once 
more  broke  out  in  Geneva.  In  the  year  1762  the  government  of 
Geneva  caused  Rousseau's  "  Contrat  Social/'  setting  forth  the  demo- 
cratic principles  of  liberty  and  equality  as  the  right  of  all  men,  to 
be  burned.  The  popular  faction  thereupon  rose,  and  in  1768  forced 
the  government  to  restore  to  the  conseil  general  the  right  of  elect- 
ing councilors.  But  this  provision  was  made  only  with  respect 
to  the  citizens  of  long  standing,  and  the  new  citizens  (or 
"natives"),^  hitherto  slighted  in  every  way,  now  rose  and  de- 
manded at  least  a  share  in  these  rights,  while  Voltaire  from  his 
seat  in  Ferney  added  fuel  to  the  flame.  A  rebellion  broke  out ;  the 
government  summoned  troops  from  Berne,  Savoy,  and  France  for 
its  suppression.  These  struggles  in  the  little  republic  formed  as  it 
were  a  prelude  to  the  great  French  Revolution,  and  all  the  rest  of 
Switzerland  took  great  interest  in  them.  The  people  considered 
the  cause  of  the  opposition  their  own ;  for  instance,  while  the  popu- 
lation of  Zurich  had  willingly  marched  out  in  the  Peasants'  War 
for  the  suppression  of  the  populace  in  other  cantons,  they  refused 
to  do  so  when  summoned  against  Geneva,  and  Berne  had  reason  to 
fear  that  the  disaflfection  would  spread  to  the  Vaud. 

In  the  rural  cantons,  too,  struggles  were  rife  like  those  of  the 
town  cantons,  in  which  the  adherents  of  the  oligarchical  govern- 
ment styled  themselves  the  Linden  and  their  opponents  the  Harten, 
as  in  the  time  of  the  Peasants'  War.  In  Outer  Rhodes  of  Appen- 
zell  and  in  Zug  a  dispute  about  various  portions  of  land  was  inter- 
woven with  this  party  strife.  In  the  first-named  little  canton  the 
Harten  accused  the  government  of  neglecting  to  consult  their 
Landsgemeinde  at  the  Peace  of  Toggenburg,  and  they  gained  a 
victory  in  1732.  They  had  taken  up  their  position  by  preference 
in  the  portion  west  of  the  Sitter,  the  Linden  in  that  east  of  the 
Sitter.     For  some  time  the  defeated  faction  adhered  to  their  sep- 

*  Natifs  or  habitans,  old   inhabitants   of  Geneva,  excluded  by  birth   from 
taking  part  in  public  affairs. 


I 


POLITICAL    DISUNION  601 

1712-1798 

arate  government  under  violent  persecution  from  the  Harten,  till 
both  parties  v^ere  exhausted. 

In  Zug  the  Harten  (who  found  their  chief  support  in  the 
bailiwicks  in  opposition  to  the  town)  overthrew  the  family  of 
Zurlauben,  who  were  in  receipt  of  French  pensions;  but  they 
having  introduced  a  "  reig^  of  terror  "  under  Joseph  Anton  Schuh- 
macher,  the  Linden  once  more  gained  the  upper  hand,  and  in  1735 
Schuhmacher  was  sent  to  the  galleys.  Owing  to  the  changed  con- 
ditions of  French  service,  the  Harten  were  victorious  in  1764  in  a 
tumultuous  popular  assembly;  the  Lands gemeinden  of  Zug  de- 
manded an  equal  division  of  pensions  among  the  people,  and 
established  an  extraordinary  tribunal  which  settled  matters  peace- 
ably. Meanwhile  in  Schwyz,  too,  the  battle  raged  between  Linden 
and  Harten,  the  latter  being  victorious,  and  the  dominion  of 
the  Reding  family  was  for  a  time  severely  shaken.  In  Inner 
Rhodes  of  Appenzell  the  popular  party  gained  the  upper  hand 
under  Anton  Joseph  Suter,  who  became  bailiff  of  the  Rheintal,  and 
in  1762  Swiss  magistrate  in  opposition  to  a  candidate  of  the  aristo- 
cratic faction.  But  Suter  incurring  blame  for  certain  blunders,  the 
Linden  stirred  up  an  agitation  against  him  and  effected  his  over- 
throw. Suter  was  forced  to  leave  the  country,  but  was  afterward 
treacherously  captured  by  his  foes,  brought  to  trial,  and  executed 
in  1784. 

Not  only  were  the  aristocrats  attacked  by  their  slighted  fel- 
low-citizens, but  for  a  long  time  past  those  from  whom  they  had 
most  to  fear,  their  oppressed  subjects,  had  been  clamoring  at  the 
doors.  These  also  endeavored  to  secure  and  extend  their  rights 
by  revolts  and  demonstrations,  and  did  not  scruple  to  proceed 
to  extremities.  For  instance,  the  community  of  Wilchingen  in 
Schaffhausen  (i  717- 1729),  the  towns  of  Winterthur  and  Stein  on 
the  Rhine  (1783),  the  two  latter  being  subjects  of  Zurich,  in 
conflict  with  their  rulers  even  turned  to  the  emperor  for  help.  The 
risings,  however,  were  mostly  put  down  by  force  of  arms. 

The  inhabitants  of  Werdenberg  complained  that  they  were 
deprived  by  Glarus  of  their  charter  of  liberties,  but  they  found  no 
hearing,  and  Glarus  discovering  a  plot  in  1721,  caused  the  whole 
district  to  be  occupied  by  the  military  and  the  conspirators  to  be 
severely  punished.  Major  Daniel  Abraham  Davel,  of  the  Pays  de 
Vaud,  an  enthusiastic  but  good-natured  and  harmless  advocate  of 
liberty,  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  of  a  muster  to  call  upon 


502 


SWITZERLAND 


1712-1798 

his  countrymen  to  emancipate  themselves,  and  endeavored  to 
raise  the  Vaud  into  an  independent  canton,  but  was  taken  prisoner 
by  subtlety  and  beheaded  in  1723.  The  inhabitants  of  Livinen  had 
in  17 13  extorted  certain  liberties,  and  in  1755,  deeming  these  in- 
fringed by  Uri,  they  rose  in  resolute  resistance.  The  government 
of  Uri,  however,  sent  an  armed  force  and  disarmed  the  men  of 
Livinen;  the  latter  were  forced  once  more  to  render  homage  on 
their  knees,  and  to  watch  the  execution  of  their  leaders,  and  the 
district  was  deprived  of  all  its  liberties. 

Although,  however,  the  people  had  not  obtained  their  rights, 
they  were  at  least  aroused;  they  learned  that  the  proceedings  of 
their  lords  and  rulers  were  no  longer  to  be  deemed  infallible ;  while 
the  latter  had  in  many  parts  sown  the  seeds  of  hatred  and  bitterness. 
In  the  Vaud  especially  the  fuel  of  discontent  was  heaped  high;  in 
the  Italian  bailiwicks,  well-nigh  devastated  by  the  negligence  of  the 
Diet  and  the  harshness  of  the  bailiffs,  it  was  only  with  the  deepest 
resentment  that  the  population  bore  the  yoke  of  the  Federal  bailiffs, 
against  whom  elsewhere  also  many  a  man  chafed  in  secret.  Only 
the  kindling  spark  was  wanting  to  set  the  whole  political  fabric  in 
flames. 


Chapter    X 

REVOLUTION  AND  ATTEMPTS    AT    REORGANIZATION 

1 798- 1 830 

THE  rosy  dawn  of  a  new  era  rose  over  mankind  as  the 
French  Revolution  sounded  the  call  to  liberty  and 
equality,  to  the  shaking  oflf  of  every  tyranny  and  the 
destruction  of  feudal  rights.  The  reforming  efforts  of  enlightened 
men  had  prepared  the  soil  in  Switzerland,  too,  so  that  from  the 
beginning  the  Revolution  found  warm  sympathy  among  many 
cultured  men  of  high  position  in  Switzerland.  Meyer  von 
Schauensee,  an  aristocrat  of  Lucerne,  pointed  out  in  a  thrilling 
speech  before  the  Helvetic  Society  the  wholesome  effects  of  that 
society  upon  the  civic  and  political  equality  of  all  classes.  Revo- 
lutionary ideas  were  specially  warmly  welcomed  and  upheld  by 
three  advocates,  bound  by  the  closest  ties  of  fellowship:  Dr.  Al- 
brecht  Rengger  of  Brugg,  Konrad  Escher  ("  von  der  Linth  "),  and 
Paul  Usteri  of  Zurich.  These  not  only  gave  energetic  and  enthusi- 
astic expression  in  the  Helvetic  Society  to  their  conviction  of  the 
wholesomeness  of  the  aim  of  the  Revolution,  but  also  sought  by 
their  writings  to  overthrow  existing  prejudices.  Escher  expressed 
his  desire  that  Switzerland  might  enjoy  more  than  the  mere  shade 
of  the  French  tree  of  liberty!  Revolutionary  notions  were  dis- 
seminated among  the  people,  particularly  in  1791  and  1792,  during 
the  occupation  of  the  frontier  in  the  time  of  the  war  of  the  coali- 
tion. For  here,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  great  events,  the 
Swiss  soldiers,  too,  were  seized  by  the  fiery  zeal  of  the  neighbor- 
ing people ;  the  cry  of  victory :  "  Liberie,  egalitc,"  the  trees  of  lib- 
erty, the  language  of  democratic  clubs,  kindled  the  warmest 
emotions  in  every  liberal-minded  Swiss.  There  was  soon  no  Swiss 
town  where  there  might  not  be  found  some  who  had  a  fellow-feel- 
ing for  the  French,  and  soon  the  watch-words  "liberty  and 
equality  "  were  in  the  mouth  of  almost  every  Swiss.  On  the  other 
hand  the  new  ideas  gave  a  great  shock  to  the  governing  class,  and 
many  of  them  not  only  feared  the  overthrow  of  existing  conditions, 

503 


504)  SWITZERLAND 

1798-1830 

but  apprehended  danger  from  the  west  to  the  freedom  of  their 
country. 

The  first  attempt  toward  the  realization  of  these  ideas  in 
Switzerland  originated  in  the  Swiss  Club  at  Paris.  This  was  a 
society  chiefly  composed  of  men  from  the  Pays  de  Vaud  and  Fri- 
bourg,  who,  long  dissatisfied  with  things  at  home  and  specially 
with  their  subject  condition,  wanted  to  extend  the  revolution  to 
their  native  land.  For  this  purpose  they  entered  into  correspond- 
ence with  those  like-minded  at  home,  as  also  with  the  leading 
statesmen  of  France,  and  sent  French  speeches  to  Switzerland, 
which  awakened  lively  sympathy,  particularly  in  the  western  and 
Romance  districts.  The  earliest  results  were  seen  in  the  French 
Lower  Valais.  This  district  ever  since  the  Burgundian  wars  had 
been  under  the  rule  of  German  Upper  Valais,  and  was  harassed  and 
fleeced  by  harsh  bailiffs.  Hence  it  needed  only  the  slightest  encour- 
agement from  Paris  to  cause  the  population  of  Monthey  and  St. 
Maurice  to  revolt  (September,  1790),  to  plant  trees  of  liberty,  and 
to  drive  out  the  bailiffs.  Soon  afterward,  under  similar  instiga- 
tion, the  people  of  Porrentruy  rebelled  against  their  harsh  ruler, 
the  Bishop  of  Basle.  The  revolt  of  the  Valais  folk  was,  however, 
suppressed  with  the  help  of  Berne;  Porrentruy  indeed  proclaimed 
itself  free  under  the  title  of  the  "  Rauracian  Republic,"  but  in  order 
to  avoid  total  anarchy,  was  obliged  to  annex  itself  to  France  in 
1793  as  the  department  Mont  Terrible.  Revolutionary  move- 
ments sprang  up  simultaneously  in  Geneva  and  in  the  Pays  de 
Vaud.  In  Geneva  the  "  natives  "  once  more  revolted ;  the  example 
of  France  was  here  faithfully  imitated  both  for  good  and  evil,  and 
among  the  perilous  waves  of  party  strife  many  endeavored  to  form 
connections  with  France. 

The  determining  influence  chiefly  at  work  in  the  Vaud  was 
that  of  Frederick  Caesar  Laharpe  of  Rolle.  Filled  even  as  a  boy 
with  burning  indignation  against  all  injustice,  at  the  seminary  at 
Haldenstein  Laharpe  imbibed  enthusiasm  for  a  united  Helvetic 
Republic  through  the  influence  of  historical  studies  and  liberal- 
minded  teachers.  As  a  lawyer  in  Berne  he  gained  a  fuller  knowl- 
edge of  the  narrow-minded  and  selfish  aristocratic  government,  and 
he  himself  relates  the  deep  impression  made  upon  him  by  the  harsh 
reply  he  received  from  one  of  the  noblest  patricians  in  speaking  of 
the  spirit  of  innovation :  "  Remember  that  you  are  our  subjects ! " 
Deeply  affronted,  he  left  his  home,  and  through  the  recommenda- 


ATTEMPTS     AT     REORGANIZATION    60tf 

1798-1830 

tion  of  an  acquaintance  was  received  at  the  Russian  court,  where 
the  Empress  Catherine  appointed  him  tutor  to  her  grandsons.  But 
like  a  stout  repubhcan,  he  did  not  renounce  his  hberty  even  at  the 
foot  of  the  throne,  and  labored  unceasingly  by  his  writings  for  the 
good  of  his  countrymen,  who  first  declared  their  sympathy  with 
the  events  in  France  by  banquets.  He  at  length  returned  in  1796, 
poor  and  without  means  of  subsistence,  to  liberate  his  ardently 
loved  country  by  the  power  of  his  words  and  of  his  arm.  But  the 
watchful  policy  of  Berne  was  before  him,  and  refused  him  entrance 
to  his  fatherland  as  a  rebel.  Often  he  would  sit  and  rest  upon  a 
boundary-stone  on  the  Swiss  frontier,  and  cast  longing  glances 
over  into  the  Vaud;  he  heard  how  his  friends  and  relatives  were 
condemned  and  banished;  finally  he  felt  no  longer  safe  on  the 
frontier,  and  fled  to  Paris,  where,  having  resolved  upon  a  life-and- 
death  struggle  with  Berne  and  the  aristocracy,  he  labored  indefat- 
igably  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Vaud. 

The  movements  which  took  place  in  the  territory  of  Zurich 
were  faf  more  serious  and  proved  more  enduring  than  all  those 
of  western  Switzerland.  On  their  return  from  the  occupation  of 
the  frontiers  many  of  the  men  of  Zurich  were  filled  with  enthusi- 
asm for  the  French,  notably  those  dwelling  around  the  lake,  who, 
as  formerly  in  the  days  of  Waldmann,  of  the  wars  of  Kappel,  and 
of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  were  once  more  the  most  zealous  for  the 
liberty  of  their  country.  They  took  an  intense  interest  in  the  pro- 
ceedings in  France,  and  frequently  assembled  to  talk  over  political 
affairs.  The  more  zealous  among  them  founded  a  reading  society 
at  Stafa,  where  they  discussed  historical  and  political  subjects,  and 
read  the  pamphlets  and  speeches  of  the  leaders  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution. In  1794  they  presented  a  memorial  to  the  government  set- 
ting forth  their  chief  grievances,  insisting  that  the  town  and  the 
rural  district  should  be  placed  upon  an  equality  in  one  common 
constitution,  and  demanding  freedom  of  trade,  liberty  to  study, 
relief  from  feudal  burdens,  and  the  admission  of  country  people 
into  the  body  of  officials.  They  called  attention  to  their  ancient 
charters  of  liberty  of  1489  and  1531,  of  which  they  had  been  de- 
prived by  the  government.  The  government,  however,  thought  it 
necessary  to  encounter  the  rapidly  spreading  spirit  of  revolution 
with  severity,  and  caused  those  chiefly  implicated — Pfenninger  of 
Stafa,  Stapfer  of  Horgen,  and  Neeracher,  a  potter  of  Stafa,  the 
author  of  the  memorial — to  be  arrested,  fined,  and  banished.    But 


506  SWITZERLAND 

1798-1830 

these  methods  of  intimidation  had  quite  a  contrary  effect  to  what 
was  intended;  a  yet  more  eager  search  was  made  for  the  ancient 
charters,  and  these  being  actually  found  among  the  archives  at 
Kiissnach/  were  rapidly  disseminated  by  means  of  copies,  and  once 
more  the  government  was  required  to  abide  by  these  charters 
(1795).  By  way  of  reply,  preparations  were  made  to  suppress  the 
new  "  rebellion "  by  force  of  arms,  whereupon  the  community  of 
Stafa  resolved  to  stand  by  one  another  "  all  for  each,  and  each  for 
all."  The  government,  fearing  the  consequences  of  this  demeanor, 
immediately  dispatched  a  body  of  troops  1700  strong;  the  com- 
munity of  Stafa  was  disarmed,  a  sword  was  brandished  over  the 
head  of  Bodmer,  the  treasurer,  as  one  of  the  chief  leaders ;  he  was 
condemned  to  imprisonment  for  life,  and  about  250  citizens  in  all 
were  punished.  "  Rulers  must  command,  people  obey  without 
question,"  proclaimed  the  unyielding  authorities. 

The  country  folk  of  St.  Gall  found  more  indulgence  from  their 
lord,  the  princely  Abbot  Beda  of  St.  Gall.  Provoked  by  the  useless 
extravagance  of  the  latter,  and  incited  by  John  Ktinzle,  a  letter- 
carrier,  an  enlightened  and  eloquent  man,  they  revolted  against 
their  superior  lord.  Beda  was  good-natured  and  patriotic  enough 
to  yield,  but  in  so  doing  neglected  to  consult  the  chapter,  or  assem- 
bly of  monks  of  the  monastery,  who  were  hostile  to  him  (1795). 
They  therefore  protested  against  his  action,  and  Pancraz  Forster, 
the  new  abbot  who  succeeded,  who  was  one  of  Beda's  chief  oppo- 
nents, would  not  hold  to  the  terms  made  by  Beda  with  the  people. 
The  states  protecting  the  monastery,  however,  seeking  to  mediate, 
finally  ranged  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  people,  the  latter  giv- 
ing vent  to  their  excitement  in  menaces  and  imprecations.  The 
people  obtained  the  right  of  electing  a  rural  council,  of  which 
Kiinzle  himself  became  president  in  1797,  and  peace  was  restored. 
This  might  well  have  formed  an  example  for  other  governments, 
showing  how  they  might  come  to  an  understanding  with  the  people 
in  peaceable  fashion,  and  make  their  rule  more  popular.  But  the 
latter  remained  inexorable.  They  did  not  even  seem  to  notice  the 
dangers  threatening  from  without;  mistrust  and  dissension  reigned 
everyw'here.  So  much  the  easier  was  it  for  the  French  to  spread 
their  net  further  and  further  over  Switzerland.  Just  as  they  had 
before  taken  rebellious  Porrentruy,  so  now  in  the  Italian  wars  of 
I797»  under  their  General  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  they  liberated  the 
lands  subject  to  the  Grisons,  the  Valtelline,  Bormio,  and  Chiavenna, 
*  On  the  Lake  of  Zurich. 


ATTEMPTS     AT    REORGANIZATION    607 

1798 

which  had  revolted  against  their  harsh  rulers,  and  annexed  them 
to  the  kindred  states  of  the  Cisalpine  Republic.  In  the  same  way  in 
April,  1798,  Geneva  became  the  prey  of  the  French.  The  latter 
very  nearly  took  possession  of  the  Vaud ;  but  the  governments  had 
no  suspicion  of  this,  and  lulled  themselves  in  comfortable  security 
till  the  thunder  of  French  cannon  in  Switzerland  roused  them 
roughly  enough  from  their  slumber. 

The  fugitive  democrats  of  the  Pays  de  Vaud,  notably  Laharpe, 
continually  labored  while  in  France  to  influence  public  opinion  in 
the  "  homeland."  Laharpe  published  a  treatise  on  the  situation  of 
the  Pays  de  Vaud,  and  demanded  its  restoration  from  Berne.  His 
hopes  and  those  of  his  colleagues,  of  obtaining  their  liberty  by  the 
help  of  France,  were  much  raised  when,  by  the  coup  d'etat  of  18 
Fructidor  (September  5),  1797,  the  war  party  took  the  helm  in 
France.  Reubel,  an  Alsatian,  and  a  member  of  the  Directory,  who 
as  a  barrister  had  once  lost  a  suit  in  the  courts  of  Berne,  and  there- 
fore cordially  hated  the  Bernese,  specially  urged  a  war  against 
Switzerland,  and  the  Directory  soon  issued  menacing  notes  to  the 
Confederation  concerning  favors  alleged  to  have  been  shown  to 
the  allies  and  emigrants.  The  exiles  from  the  Vaud  encouraged 
this  action,  and  desired  not  only  an  intervention  in  their  favor,  but 
also  violent  interference  on  the  part  of  the  French  in  Swiss  affairs. 
In  their  name  Laharpe  requested  the  Directory  to  intervene,  with  a 
not  very  apt  allusion  to  the  treaty  of  1564.  It  was  undoubtedly 
Laharpe's  honest  conviction  that  France  would  aid  the  people  in 
gaining  liberty,  not  in  order  to  abuse  it,  but  simply  for  their  benefit. 
The  Directory,  however,  was  induced  to  invade  Switzerland  by  no 
such  ideal  and  unselfish  motives,  but  by  certain  private  and  mostly 
selfish  interests.  For  it  was  above  all  things  important  to  the  war- 
like operations  of  France  to  be  able  to  hold  Switzerland  in  a  state 
of  dependence,  and  at  her  disposal;  and  the  Directory,  in  need  of 
money,  specially  coveted  the  rich  treasure  of  Berne,  the  value  of 
which  was  greatly  exaggerated  by  common  report.  It  actually  con- 
sisted of  about  seven  millions  in  money  and  twelve  millions  in 
bonds. 

The  designs  and  aims  of  France  took  more  definite  form,  and 
became  more  evident,  after  the  Congress  of  Rastadt,  where  the 
affairs  of  Europe  were  to  be  arranged  after  the  splendid  conquests 
of  Bonaparte  in  Italy.  The  Confederation  desired  from  the  Con- 
gress a  guarantee  of  their  territorial  position  and  of  their  consti- 


608  SWITZERLAND 

1797 

tution.  They  were  not,  however,  permitted  to  send  a  representa- 
tive ;  on  the  contrary,  their  fate  was  arbitrarily  settled  in  Paris,  and 
that  chiefly  by  the  influence  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  and  Peter  Ochs 
of  Basle,  who  drew  up  their  plans  during  the  Congress.  Bonaparte 
being  privy  to  the  designs  of  the  Directory,  purposely  took  his  jour- 
ney to  Rastadt  by  way  of  Switzerland  in  November,  1797,  in  order 
to  discover  the  disposition  of  the  people  and  to  make  a  preliminary 
survey  of  the  land.  He  was  everywhere  received  with  enthusiasm  as 
an  honored  hero;  in  the  Vaud,  in  Liestal  and  Basle  he  was  openly 
welcomed  as  their  "  Deliverer,"  or  "  Liberator,"  which  seemed  to 
him  to  promise  a  favorable  issue  for  the  French.  He  had  also  confi- 
dential interviews  with  eminent  malcontents,  particularly  with 
Peter  Ochs,  the  chief  guildmaster  of  Basle,  who,  like  Laharpe  and 
many  other  Swiss,  had  become  convinced  that  the  difference  be- 
tween citizens  and  subjects  must  be  abolished  at  all  costs,  even 
though  it  were  by  the  help  of  foreigners.  Ochs  soon  afterward 
went  to  Paris  as  envoy  from  Basle  on  secret  affairs  touching  the 
surrender  of  Fricktal  to  Basle;  there  he  was  also  drawn  into  the 
interests  of  the  Directory,  and  became  thenceforth  a  devoted 
servant  of  France.  Hence,  directly  after  the  return  of  Bonaparte 
the  schemes  against  Switzerland  were  finally  settled.  Ochs,  as 
leader  of  the  "  Patriots,"  discussed  the  reorganization  of  Switzer- 
land with  Napoleon  and  the  Director  Reubel.  The  Directory  had 
been  hitherto  undecided  whether  to  make  of  Switzerland  one 
united  state  or  to  divide  it.  The  "  Patriots  "  now  urged  their 
project  of  a  united  state,  the  threads  of  which  might  be  easily  kept 
in  hand  by  France,  and  which  would  make  Switzerland  a  strong 
bulwark  of  France.  Finally,  on  December  28,  1797,  the  Directory 
issued  a  notice  to  Switzerland  concerning  the  Vaud,  and  resolved 
upon  the  complete  annexation  of  the  Val  de  Moutier,  which  was 
immediately  put  under  military  occupation.  By  this  means  Swiss 
neutrality  was  violated,  and  practically  war  was  declared  against 
the  Confederation. 

Notwithstanding  these  menacing  dangers,  Switzerland  re- 
mained incomprehensibly  quiet  and  inactive,  totally  crippled  by 
the  old  want  of  unity.  Warnings  and  admonitions  were  certainly 
not  lacking.  Johann  von  Miiller,  the  historian,  in  eloquent  words 
exhorted  them  to  a  unity  which  should  ignore  all  boundaries  be- 
tween cantons,  all  walls  between  towns  and  rural  districts.  Doctor 
Ebel,  too,  the  author  of  tlie  first  Swiss  guide-book,  who,  though  a 


ATTEMPTS     AT     REORGANIZATION    609 

1798 

German  by  birth,  entertained  a  warm  feeling  for  Switzerland, 
exhorted  men  to  come  forward  to  support  the  ancient  Confedera- 
tion in  the  face  of  the  growing  danger,  and  to  give  up  the  old  sys- 
tem of  government  of  their  own  accord — ^but  all  in  vain!  The 
nearer  the  danger  came,  the  greater  was  the  blindness,  the  more 
helpless  the  attitude.  In  alarm,  an  assurance  was  given  to  France 
that  her  wishes  should  be  followed;  at  length,  on  December  27,  a 
general  Diet  was  assembled  at  Aarau,  This,  however,  instead  of 
negotiating,  instead  of  generously  striving  after  a  free  constitu- 
tion, and  throwing  aside  all  mutual  mistrust  and  all  exaggerated 
fears,  determined  upon  a  renewal  of  the  ancient  Federal  charters, 
which  had  not  been  confirmed  since  1526.  The  Federal  oath  was 
taken  with  great  solemnity  on  January  25.  The  Diet  hoped  thus 
"  to  show  the  foreigner  how  united  and  happy  Switzerland  was 
under  her  existing  constitution."  But  what  availed  a  renewal  of 
the  letter  of  the  old  leagues,  when  Federal  feeling  and  spirit  were 
long  since  dead  ?  As  an  actual  fact  the  boasted  unity  seemed  very 
doubtful;  among  the  democracies  there  prevailed  a  deep  mistrust 
of  the  policy  of  the  aristocracies;  Appenzell,  Glarus,  and  other 
democratic  states  opposed  the  renewal  of  the  Federal  oath;  Basle 
formally  abstained  from  taking  part  in  it;  and  while  the  lords  of 
the  Diet  were  drinking  toasts  to  the  existing  constitution  at  the 
taking  of  the  oath,  the  friends  of  Ochs  in  Basle  were  drinking  to 
the  democratic  reorganization  of  Switzerland.  Moreover,  the  gov- 
ernments of  the  various  states  were  no  less  divided,  the  adherents 
of  the  old  and  the  new  standing  in  sharp  opposition  to  one  another. 
The  people,  too,  remained  quite  unconcerned  by  the  act  of  the  Diet, 
since  their  wishes  were  not  regarded ;  in  the  Federal  oath  they  only 
saw  the  union  of  lords  against  subjects,  for  indeed  the  league  had 
long  since  ceased  to  be  a  really  popular  alliance. 

Therefore,  since  nothing  was  achieved  by  peaceful  methods,  a 
violent  revolution  became  necessary.  In  January  and  February, 
1798,  the  subjects  rose  on  all  sides,  encouraged  by  the  conduct  of 
France;  while  Mengaud,  the  crafty  French  ambassador,  openly 
fanned  the  flame  and  labored  for  the  revolution.  Basle  was  the  first 
place  to  come  to  terms  with  its  subjects,  by  proclaiming  equality  of 
rights  on  January  20.  Once  more  disturbances  broke  out  along  the 
Lake  of  Zurich,  and  the  government  was  forced  to  release  the 
prisoners  arrested  in  1795;  the  people  of  Schaffhausen  next 
rebelled,  and  compelled  their  government  to  resign;  while  the  an- 


610  SWITZERLAND 

1798 

cient  territory  of  St.  Gall  and  Toggenburg  emancipated  itself, 
besides  Thurgau,  Rheintal,  Sargans,  and  the  bailiwicks  of  Ticino, 
and  constituted  themselves  independent  communities.  Glarus  was 
obliged  for  herself  to  give  up  Werdenberg,  and  in  concert  with 
Schwyz  to  surrender  Caster  and  Utznach.  The  patrician  govern- 
ment of  Lucerne,  terrified  by  a  movement  which  was  spreading 
like  wild-fire,  resigned  to  make  room  for  one  more  modern  and 
more  liberal-minded. 

Thus  the  whole  fabric  was  suddenly  on  fire,  the  flames  raging 
most  wildly  in  the  Vaud.  Here  committees  were  formed  in  every 
town  to  circulate  and  obtain  signatures  to  petitions  requiring  the 
restoration  of  ancient  rights;  and  when  Berne  hesitated  and  as- 
sembled troops,  the  populace  arose  in  many  parts  to  carry  the 
revolution  by  force.  On  January  25  the  arms  and  portraits  of  the 
governing  families  were  demolished  in  almost  every  place,  trees  of 
liberty  planted,  and  the  green  colors  of  the  Vaud  hoisted  in  the 
place  of  the  colors  of  Berne ;  the  Vaud  was  now  to  form  a  separate 
state,  independent  of  Berne,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Republique  du 
Leman."  The  committees  entered  into  correspondence  with  the 
French  troops  then  in  the  Pays  de  Gex  under  the  command  of 
Menard,  and  on  January  28  Menard  entered  the  Vaud  with  15,000 
men,  Berne  being  unable  to  take  any  effectual  step  to  oppose  him, 
all  appeals  for  help  to  her  fellow-Confederates  having  remained 
unanswered.  It  now  became  impossible  to  continue  the  Diet; 
revolutions  breaking  out  on  all  sides,  and  the  French,  whom  no  one 
ventured  to  oppose,  commencing  hostilities,  the  ground  gave  way 
beneath  its  feet,  so  that  on  the  last  day  of  January,  1798,  it  was 
dissolved.  Hardly  had  the  Federal  delegates  departed  when 
Aarau,  at  the  instigation  of  Mengaud,  planted  the  tree  of  liberty, 
which  had  already  been  held  in  readiness  for  some  days.  The  last 
hour  of  the  Confederation  was  drawing  near ! 

Berne — thrown  upon  her  own  resources  by  the  Diet — stood 
almost  alone  against  the  foe,  and  the  eyes  of  the  adherents  of  the 
old  regime  were  now  fixed  upon  that  state  as  upon  the  stronghold 
of  Switzerland.  Meanwhile,  Berne  herself  was  undecided  how  to 
meet  the  French;  the  latter,  however,  desired  not  peace,  but  war, 
and  prepared  for  an  overwhelming  assault.  In  February  Menard 
was  replaced  in  the  Vaud  by  Brune,  under  whom  was  General 
Schauenburg,  who  advanced  with  a  division  of  troops  from  the 
Jura.    Both  together  were  to  coerce  by  force  of  arms  those  govern- 


ATTEMPTS    AT    REORGANIZATION    511 

1798 

ments  which  would  not  voluntarily  accept  democracy,  and  to  con- 
vert the  whole  of  Switzerland  into  a  united  republic.  By  craft  and 
duplicity  Brune  maintained  a  truce  with  Berne,  and  issued  an  ulti- 
matum containing-  specific  demands;  then,  when  the  latter  were 
only  partially  fulfilled,  he  broke  the  truce  and  set  his  troops  in 
motion. 

Soleure  and  Fribourg  capitulated  at  once  in  the  beginning  of 
March;  but  Berne,  where  there  were  two  opposing  parties  in  the 
councils  (the  peace  party  under  Von  Frisching,  the  treasurer,  and 
the  war  party  under  Von  Steiger,  the  mayor),  hesitated  whether 
to  make  a  vigorous  resistance  or  to  adopt  a  shameful  policy  of 
laissez-faire ;  and  it  was  only  the  brave  conduct  of  General  Ludwig 
von  Erlach  which  succeeded  in  bringing  his  native  town  to  the  hon- 
orable decision  to  take  up  arms  for  their  liberties.  Of  the  other 
states,  Zurich,  Uri,  Schwyz,  Glarus,  Appenzell,  and  the  town  of 
St.  Gall  alone  sent  any  auxiliary  troops ;  the  rest  had  no  desire  to 
protect  the  aristocracy  of  Berne.  But  Berne  could  not  even  rely 
upon  her  own  troops,  for  these  were  not  only  very  few  in  number 
and  widely  scattered,  but  were  also  torn  by  dissensions  and  ready 
to  mutiny:  many  of  the  soldiers  would  not  obey  their  leaders,  and 
fostered  mistrust  of  them  and  of  the  government;  even  the  life  of 
Erlach  himself  was  threatened !  The  issue,  therefore,  could  not  be 
doubtful.  Notwithstanding  their  weakness  and  paucity,  the 
Bernese  troops  yet  bore  themselves  bravely  in  the  battle  itself.  At 
Neueneck,  southwest  of  Berne,  to  which  a  division  of  Brune's  army 
had  advanced,  they  gave  battle  under  Johannes  Weber,  adjutant 
general  of  Colonel  von  Grafifenried,  with  truly  heroic  courage,  and 
put  the  enemy  to  flight  March  5.  On  the  north  side  of  the  town, 
however,  against  which  Schauenburg's  troops  had  advanced,  all 
was  lost:  Erlach's  outposts  yielded  at  Fraubrunnen;  in  the  little 
wood  of  Grauholz,  two  hours'  march  from  Berne,  Erlach,  after  a 
brief  but  valiant  resistance,  was  obliged  to  retire  before  a  flank 
movement  of  the  French,  who  were  four  times  as  strong  as  himself. 
At  Breitfeld  he  assembled  his  men  once  more;  but  in  the  town  all 
resistance  had  already  been  abandoned,  and  on  March  5  a  capitula- 
tion ensued.  Unfortunate  as  was  the  end  of  the  struggle,  the 
Bernese  did  at  least  save  the  honor  of  ancient  Switzerland ;  but  in 
their  fall  the  Bernese  aristocracy  carried  with  them  the  whole  of 
the  Switzerland  of  old  days.  The  other  states  immediately  gave  up 
all  opposition. 


512  SWITZERLAND 

1798 

While  Brune  and  Schauenburg  were  occupying  Switzerland, 
zealous  attempts  were  being  made  in  Paris  to  settle  the  details  of 
the  new  order  of  things  in  Swiss  affairs.  From  the  pen  of  Ochs, 
the  cultured  and  clever  politician,  came  a  scheme  of  a  united  Hel- 
vetic Constitution,  abolishing  cantonal  differences  and  establishing 
a  uniform  government.  The  Directory  and  Bonaparte  assented  to 
the  scheme  with  very  slight  alterations.  It  was  drawn  up  after  the 
pattern  of  the  constitution  of  the  French  Directory.  Switzerland 
was  to  form  a  state  "  one  and  indivisible,"  with  a  central  govern- 
ment. All  citizens  of  the  former  states  or  cantons  were  to  be  Swiss 
citizens  without  distinction  or  difference.  All  conditions  of  de- 
pendence were  abolished;  subjects  and  allied  states  received  equal 
rights  with  the  hitherto  governing  states,  and  the  political  power 
of  sovereignty  was  vested  in  the  hands  of  all  the  citizens.  As  in 
France,  the  form  of  government  was  a  representative  democracy 
with  two  chambers.  The  legislative  power  was  to  be  exercised  by 
a  Senate  and  a  greater  council,  the  executive  by  a  Directory  of  five 
members,  assisted  by  four  ministers;  while  the  judicial  power  was 
vested  in  a  high  court  of  justice.    Lucerne  was  made  the  capital. 

For  purposes  of  administration,  jurisdiction,  and  election  the 
whole  of  Switzerland  was  divided  into  twenty-two  cantons  or  juris- 
dictions defined  by  geographical  boundaries;  to  the  thirteen  states 
were  added  Leman  (Vaud),  Aargau,  Thurgau,  Bellinzona, 
Lugano,  Sargans  with  Rheintal,  St.  Gall,  Valais,  and  Rhsetia.  The 
cantons  were  further  divided  into  districts.  At  the  head  of  every 
canton  there  was  a  governor  appointed  by  the  Directory,  and  an 
administrative  chamber.  The  constitution  was  submitted  to  the 
general  vote  of  the  citizens;  universal  suffrage  was  established  for 
the  election  of  district  and  communal  officials:  in  the  communes 
there  were  primary  assemblies,  in  the  jurisdictions  electoral  assem- 
blies of  delegates  elected  by  the  people.  The  personal  rights  of  the 
citizens  were  exactly  like  those  in  France.  Privileges,  prerogatives 
of  the  nobility,  titles,  and  such-like  were  abolished.  Anyone  might 
be  admitted  to  office;  restrictions  were  taken  off  trade  and  manu- 
factures, and  feudal  burdens  were  swept  away.  To  every  citizen 
were  guaranteed  liberty  of  conscience  and  of  religion,  freedom  of 
the  press,  and  the  right  of  petition  as  inalienable  rights. 

The  lofty  aim  of  the  whole  constitution  was  to  further  the 
welfare,  the  ennobling,  and  the  enlightenment  of  the  people,  and 
to  induce  every  individual  without  distinction  to  take  an  active 


ATTEMPTS     AT     REORGANIZATION    513 

1798 

part  in  political  life.  But  the  French  themselves  discredited  their 
work  and  procured  enemies  to  the  constitution  by  at  once  treating 
Switzerland  as  conquered  territory,  seizing  the  hoarded  treasures, 
levying  contributions,  and  harassing  the  population.  From  the 
cantons  of  Berne,  Fribourg,  Soleure,  Lucerne,  and  Zurich  alone 
they  extorted  a  war  tax  of  fifteen  millions;  the  public  chests  and 
arsenals  were  robbed  right  and  left;  in  Berne  (according  to  a  com- 
putation of  1815)  in  all  over  seventeen  rhillion  francs  were  stolen. 
Laharpe  himself  was  appalled  at  the  faithless  and  shameful  course 
of  action  adopted  by  the  deliverers  of  his  country. 

This  circumstance  more  than  anything  else  strengthened  the 
opposition  already  existing  in  Switzerland  against  the  united  con- 
stitution; the  "  deliverance"  seemed  more  like  subjugation.  When 
therefore  the  French  commissary  invited  all  the  cantons  to  send 
their  delegates  to  Aarau  on  April  12  to  accept  the  constitution,  only 
the  ten  cantons  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Lucerne,  Soleure,  Fribourg, 
Basle,  Schaffhausen,  Aargau,  Oberland,  and  the  Vaud  complied, 
the  interior  and  eastern  cantons  holding  aloof.  This  assembly  in 
Aarau  elected  the  new  officials,  the  Directory,  and  the  ministers. 
Admonished  by  the  Directory,  the  states  of  eastern  Switzerland 
next  embraced  the  constitution;  only  the  original  cantons,  Uri, 
Schwyz,  and  Unterwalden,  where  the  sense  of  independence  had 
been  strong  for  centuries,  resisted  with  an  obstinacy  born  of  an 
affronted  sense  of  honor  and  liberty ;  but  they  lost  the  historical  and 
lawful  precedence  which  they  had  maintained  for  centuries!  In 
these  cantons,  too,  the  priests  had  great  influence,  and  certain  of 
the  Catholic  church  pointed  out  unfavorable  clauses  of  the  constitu- 
tion, such  as  the  confiscation  of  the  monastic  treasures  and  the  licens- 
ing of  mixed  marriages,  to  arouse  opposition  among  the  people.  A 
separate  Diet  at  Schwyz  protested  against  the  Helvetic  Constitution ; 
and  Schauenburg  adopting  violent  measures,  Schwyz  actually  fixed 
upon  the  bold  plan  of  restoring  the  old  Confederation  and  making 
head  against  the  victorious  nation.  A  violent  patriotic  and  religious 
enthusiasm  took  possession  of  all  classes;  young  and  old,  women 
and  children,  took  up  arms,  and  ecclesiastics,  like  Marianus  Herzog 
of  Einsiedeln  and  the  Capuchin  Paul  Styger,  placed  themselves  at 
their  head.  A  commencement  was  made  by  invading  the  neighbor- 
ing territories  of  Zug,  Rapperswil,  and  Lucerne,  in  order  to  wrench 
the  country  piece  by  piece  from  the  Helvetic  Republic.  Schauen- 
burg on  the  other  hand  now  conceived  the  plan  of  an  attack  to  be 


614»  SWITZERLAND 

made  on  all  sides,  and  the  men  of  Schwyz  were  forced  to  give  way. 
Part  of  the  French  troops  advanced  from  Zurich  along  the  lake, 
took  Wollerau  and  Pfaffikon  by  storm  on  April  30,  1798,  and 
marched  against  the  Etzel  and  the  Schindellegi.  Pastor  Marianus 
Herzog  was  the  first  to  treacherously  desert  his  post,  and  thus  to 
open  the  way  to  Einsiedeln  to  the  enemy;  hence  the  remaining 
forces  of  Schwyz,  under  Alois  Reding,  after  defending  themselves 
most  valiantly  and  successfully,  to  avoid  being  surrounded  were 
forced  to  retire  upon  Rothenthurm  and  Morgarten,  where  mean- 
while another  division  of  the  French  had  been  successfully  en- 
countered; and,  almost  frantic  with  enthusiasm,  on  May  2  they 
again  defeated  the  united  hosts  of  the  enemy.  The  French  forces, 
however,  far  outnumbered  those  of  Schwyz,  and  the  latter  were 
moreover  cut  off  from  their  fellows.  When,  therefore,  after  a 
truce,  it  became  necessary  for  the  Lands gemeinde  of  Schwyz  to 
come  to  a  decision,  they  arranged  an  honorable  peace  (May  4). 

The  time  soon  came  when  the  whole  of  Switzerland  was  re- 
quired to  swear  to  the  Helvetic  Constitution,  and  then  the  resent- 
ment broke  out  afresh  in  Schwyz,  and  also  in  Nidwalden.  The 
latter,  incited  by  the  clergy,  flew  to  arms;  Schauenburg,  however, 
invaded  the  little  territory  with  from  9000  to  10,000  men,  and 
conquered  it  on  September  9,  after  a  short  struggle,  though  it  is 
true,  with  much  difficulty ;  for,  mindful  of  the  deeds  of  their  ances- 
tors, the  descendants  of  the  heroes  of  Morgarten,  Sempach,  and 
Murten  did  not  yield  till  they  could  carry  the  fame  of  incomparable 
bravery  with  them  to  the  grave.  Terrible  indeed  was  the  fate  of 
the  country:  wherever  the  French  bayonets  appeared  the  ground 
was  dyed  with  streams  of  blood ;  dwellings  were  burned  down,  and 
misery  knew  no  bounds  in  "  the  days  of  terror  of  Nidwalden." 
Thus  was  the  Helvetic  Constitution  imposed  upon  them  only  by 
force. 

Meanwhile  the  Directory  and  its  ministers  applied  themselves 
vigorously  to  the  performance  of  their  task.  Specially  serviceable 
were  the  efforts  of  the  two  ministers.  Dr.  Albrecht  Rengger  and 
Albrecht  Stapfer,  both  natives  of  the  little  (formerly  Bernese) 
town  of  Brugg.  While  Rengger,  as  minister  of  the  interior,  busied 
himself  with  the  introduction  of  new  regulations  in  the  communes, 
Stapfer,  minister  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  was  untiring  in  his 
endeavors  to  improve  the  educational  system.  A  clause  of  the 
Helvetic  Constitution  defines  enlightenment  as  the  chief  foundation 


:a:ttempts   at  reorganization  sis 

B      1798 

of  public  welfare,  speaking  of  it  as  preferable  to  all  outward  pros- 
perity. It  was  in  this  spirit  that  Stapfer  embarked  upon  his  task, 
and  the  intense  activity  which  was  now  displayed  in  the  sphere  of 
education  is  one  of  the  finest  points  of  the  Helvetic  system;  the 
ideas  which  then  sprang  into  existence  were  as  the  first  tokens  of 
the  spring  of  modern  times,  and  have  to  some  extent  been  only 
quite  lately  carried  into  execution.  Stapfer  caused  all  the  cantons 
to  send  him  reports  of  the  condition  of  their  system  of  schools  and 
education,  together  with  ideas  and  suggestions  for  their  improve- 
ment. Federal  regulations  for  schools  were  drawn  up,  which  em- 
braced all  scientific  and  pedagogic  institutions,  and  produced  a  very 
great  advance  as  compared  with  conditions  existing  prior  to  1798. 
In  the  chief  town  of  every  canton  a  council  of  education  was  estab- 
lished consisting  of  seven  members;  a  commissioner  or  inspector 
of  public  instruction  chosen  by  the  council  of  education  watched 
over  every  district,  to  see  that  the  communal  schools  were  provided 
with  capable  teachers;  and  in  every  canton  a  seminary  was  to  be 
erected  for  the  training  of  good  teachers.  Pestalozzi  now  gained 
his  opportunity  of  laboring  effectually  for  the  renovation  of  the 
method  of  teaching  by  publishing  a  popular  paper  at  the  request 
of  Stapfer.  Stapfer  specially  directed  his  efforts  toward  curing  the 
evils  wrought  by  the  war ;  with  this  aim  he  erected  a  house  of  edu- 
cation at  Stans  for  poor  orphan  children,  which  was  intrusted  to 
the  direction  of  Pestalozzi;  here  the  latter  labored  night  and  day, 
full  of  love  and  devotion  for  the  little  ones.  Stapfer  was  also 
anxious  to  effectually  promote  higher  education,  the  arts  and 
sciences.  He  provided  for  the  erection  of  "  gymnasiums,"  or 
grammar-schools,  and  even  suggested  the  establishment  of  a  Swiss 
university  or  academy;  he  endeavored  also  to  establish  in  all  parts 
literary  societies  for  the  promotion  of  public  spirit,  enlightenment, 
and  culture.  Besides  all  this,  he  made  arrangements  for  the 
foundation  of  a  Swiss  society  of  arts,  and  directed  his  energy 
toward  preserving  and  throwing  open  the  monastic  libraries  and 
collections  (National  Museum).  The  number  of  daily  papers  in- 
creased, and  Federal  newspapers  sprang  mto  existence,  such  as  the 
Schweiserischer  Republikaner,  of  Escher  and  Usteri,  and  the 
Journal  von  und  fur  Hclvetien. 

These  praiseworthy  efforts,  however,  did  not  always  meet  with 
a  favorable  reception.  The  means  were  not  adequate  to  the  plans ; 
the  finances  of  the  central  government  were  altogether  insufficient 


516  SWITZERLAND 

1798-1799 

for  the  carrying  out  of  the  proposed  institutions,  and  moreover 
much  prejudice  against  all  innovations  still  prevailed  among  the 
people ;  even  Pestalozzi,  notwithstanding  his  self-sacrificing  activity, 
was  so  combated  and  hampered  in  the  original  cantons  of  Uri, 
Schwyz,  and  Unterwalden  that  he  was  almost  in  despair.  But  the 
new  seed  suffered  most  from  the  boundless  misery  left  everywhere 
by  the  French  invasion.  Many  districts  were  deprived  of  all  means 
of  subsistence ;  gardens  and  fields  were  laid  waste,  and  disease  and 
famine  followed  like  dismal  specters  in  the  wake  of  the  French 
armies. 

The  efforts  of  the  Directory  to  help  by  contributions  of  pro- 
duce and  money  were  as  a  drop  in  the  ocean;  the  contributions 
required  by  the  French  for  transport,  provisions,  and  fortifications 
swallowed  up  all,  and  increased  from  day  to  day.  For  Switzerland 
having  in  August,  1798,  abandoned  her  neutrality  and  concluded 
an  alliance  with  France,  had  become  the  battlefield  of  the  second 
European  war  of  coalition,  which  fearfully  harassed  the  land,  and 
although  in  the  main  quite  foreign  to  her  interests,  yet  had  a  dis- 
tinct effect  upon  the  course  of  political  events  in  Switzerland. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1799  the  Austrians  were  at 
first  victorious ;  the  Archduke  Charles  crossed  the  Rhine  and  forced 
his  way  through  the  territories  of  Schaffhausen,  Thurgau,  and 
Zurich,  driving  the  French  before  him ;  while  from  the  Grisons  in 
the  southeast  a  division  advanced  under  Hotze  (a  native  of  Rich- 
terswil)  and  drove  back  the  enemy  from  the  districts  of  the  in- 
terior. After  a  fierce  encounter  near  Zurich  on  June  4,  1799,  Mas- 
sena  was  obliged  to  retire  before  Charles  and  Hotze  behind  the 
Limmat.  A  reaction  ensued  in  the  east  of  Switzerland;  the  op- 
ponents of  the  Helvetic  Constitution  and  of  the  French  received  the 
Austrians  with  rejoicings  and  bore  themselves  triumphantly; 
Abbot  Pancraz  Forster  revoked  his  former  concessions  to  the  peo- 
ple and  once  more  established  his  dominion;  in  Thurgau,  the 
numerous  lords  of  manors  and  squires  again  possessed  themselves 
of  their  privileges ;  the  canton  or  district  of  St.  Gall  was  abolished, 
and  the  constitution  of  Appenzell  restored  by  the  help  of  the  Aus- 
trians, while  the  trees  of  liberty  were  destroyed. 

But  the  joy  of  the  reactionary  party  was  not  of  long  duration. 
For  scarcely  had  the  Archduke  Charles  been  recalled  from  Switzer- 
land, and  marched  away  along  the  Rhine  to  Germany,  when  Mas- 
sena  successfully  assumed  the  offensive,  and  defeated  the  Russians 


ATTEMPTS     AT     REORGANIZATION    617 

1799-1800 

under  Korsakow  on  September  26,  in  the  scond  battle  near  Zurich, 
whereupon  Zurich  and  the  whole  of  the  northeast  of  Switzerland 
fell  into  his  hands.  Suvarov,  the  Russian  general,  endeavoring 
to  lead  his  own  troops  and  the  Austrian  auxiliaries  from  Italy 
over  the  St.  Gothard,  found  his  way  blocked  at  the  Lake  of  the 
Four  Cantons,  and  it  was  only  after  indescribable  difficulties  and 
by  a  desperate  march  across  the  Alps,  over  the  Kinzigkulm,  Pragel, 
and  the  pass  of  Panix,  that  he  succeeded  in  striking  out  a  circui- 
tous route  toward  the  east.  By  this  means  Switzerland  once  more 
falling  completely  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  the  Helvetic  Re- 
public was  again  established  in  its  entirety.  But  the  unhappy  land 
had  yet  to  suffer  grievously  for  having  become  the  battlefield  of 
foreign  armies.  Great  excesses  were  committed  by  the  soldiers  of 
both  sides,  and  the  demands  for  the  maintenance  of  the  army  be- 
came more  and  more  oppressive.  In  the  short  time  from  September 
to  December  Thurgau  alone  was  forced  to  disburse  almost  a  mil- 
lion and  a  half  of  florins  for  the  French  army;  while  the  town  of 
Arbon  had  to  pay  75,000  francs,  and  Zurich  and  Basle  as  much  as 
800,000  francs !  All  this  was  not  calculated  to  reconcile  the  people 
to  the  new  order  of  things ;  every  evil  was  ascribed  chiefly  to  the 
new  constitution.  Hence,  after  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  coali- 
tion there  arose  a  conflict  between  the  factions  in  Switzerland  itself, 
which  at  length  brought  about  the  downfall  of  the  Helvetic 
Constitution. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  united  Helvetic  Constitution  two 
I>arties  bitterly  opposed  one  another  throughout  the  whole  of 
Switzerland :  the  Unionists  or  Centralists,  adherents  of  the  uniform 
system,  and  the  Federalists,  or  adherents  of  the  old  Federal  Con- 
stitution and  of  the  Confederation.  This  schism  was  specially 
troublesome  in  the  councils  and  in  the  government;  while  at  the 
same  time  the  friends  of  the  new  order  of  things  were  split  up  into 
various  smaller  divisions,  perpetually  at  strife  among  themselves, 
and  alternately  seeking  to  obtain  a  leading  influence  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  to  alter  the  constitution  to  suit  their  own  views.  Four 
coups  d'etat  succeeded  one  another  in  five  years,  and  four  changes 
of  the  constitution. 

At  first  the  government  was  entirely  central,  but  after  chang- 
ing several  of  the  persons  composing  it,  the  leading  members  them- 
selves— Ochs  and  Laharpe — were  expelled ;  the  Directory  then  dis- 
solved, and  in  its  stead,  on  January  8,  1800,  an  executive  committee 


518 


SWITZERLAND 


1800-1802 

of  seven  members  (mostly  "Moderates")  was  established  by  the 
legislative  councils.  This  came  about  by  the  help  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  who  had  likewise  abolished  the  Directory  in  France, 
and  had  raised  himself  to  the  position  of  First  Consul.  But  the 
Centralists  in  the  legislative  councils  becoming  once  more  active, 
the  Moderate  party  went  further,  and  by  the  help  of  French  troops 
compassed  the  dissolution  of  the  councils,  whereupon,  on  August 
7,  i8oo,  a  council  of  legislation  of  fifty  members  was  set  up.  With 
the  attempt  to  establish  a  new  constitution,  however,  the  bitterest 
party  strife  broke  out,  and  the  influence  of  France  became  very 
active.  The  First  Consul  was  gradually  adopting  the  views  of  the 
Federalists,  and  at  length,  by  a  new  constitution  of  May  29,  1801, 
styled  the  "  Scheme  of  Malmaison,"  he  almost  entirely  restored  the 
sovereignty  of  the  cantons  and  the  Diet.  This  constitution,  how- 
ever, did  not  last;  the  Centralists,  under  Usteri,  succeeded  at  the 
Diet  called  together  to  receive  the  constitution  in  remodeling  it  ac- 
cording to  their  own  ideas.  A  counter-stroke  on  the  part  of  the 
Federalists  ( Reding,  Reinhard,  etc. )  quickly  followed ;  they  drove 
out  the  Helvetic  officials,  established  a  senate  of  their  own  party, 
and  drew  up  a  constitution,  which  was  really  still  more  Federal 
than  the  scheme  of  Napoleon  (November,  1801,  to  February, 
1802).  But  in  the  spring  of  1802  the  Centralists  again  rallied,  and 
once  more  obtained  a  united  constitution. 

This  exasperated  the  Federalists,  and  they  braced  themselves 
for  a  desperate  struggle.  The  withdrawal  of  the  French  troops, 
which  took  place  in  consequence  of  the  Peace  of  Amiens,  in  the 
summer  of  1802,  gave  the  signal  for  the  outbreak.  Under  the 
name  of  a  "  Swiss  Brotherhood  "  a  conspiracy  was  formed  against 
the  Centralists  and  the  Helvetic  Government,  the  two  states  of 
Berne  and  Zurich  supporting  the  democratic  cantons.  Twelve 
cantons  assembled  at  a  Diet  at  Schwyz,  Zurich,  as  the  capital, 
taking  the  lead.  The  Helvetic  Government  found  itself  confronted 
by  an  open  revolt,  which  it  endeavored  to  quell  by  force  of  arms; 
but  the  troops  were  defeated  by  those  of  Unterwalden  at  the  Rengg 
August  27-28,  upon  which  it  called  upon  the  French  to  intervene. 

It  was  in  vain  that  Zurich  was  besieged  in  September,  1802, 
by  the  Helvetic  Greneral  Andermatt.  No  longer  safe  even  in 
Berne,  the  government  was  forced  to  fly  to  the  Vaud,  where,  how- 
ever, the  troops  under  General  Bachmann  were  likewise  defeated 
at  Morat  and  Avenches  by  the  troops  of  the  "  Swiss  Brotherhood  " 


ATTEMPTS     AT    REORGANIZATION    619 

1802-1803 

under  Rudolf  von  Erlach.^  The  Centralists  now  began  to  give 
way,  and  the  Helvetic  Government,  no  longer  safe  in  Lausanne, 
was  about  to  take  refuge  in  Savoy,  when  General  Rapp,  Napoleon's 
plenipotentiary,  suddenly  arrived,  and  in  the  name  of  the  First 
Consul,  who  offered  himself  as  a  mediator  between  the  parties, 
commanded  a  halt.  The  revolted  districts  were  occupied  by  a 
French  army,  the  leaders  of  the  revolt  beheaded,  and  the  Helvetic 
Government  reentered  Berne  in  October,  1802,  under  the  protection 
of  French  troops. 

The  First  Consul  had  now  got  the  exhausted  Switzerland 
completely  into  his  power.  With  a  view  to  the  reorganization  of 
Swiss  affairs  he  summoned  delegates  of  both  parties  to  a  consulta- 
tion at  Paris  to  advise  with  him  as  to  guiding  principles,  which 
might,  if  possible,  satisfy  both  Federalists  and  Centralists.  The 
late  struggles  had  convinced  him  that  the  united  Helvetic  Consti- 
tution could  not  be  maintained,  since  it  endeavored  too  rapidly  to 
efface  with  one  stroke  all  the  conditions  which  had  become  histor- 
ical, and  offended  too  many  interests  and  views;  he  was  even  of 
opinion  that  the  very  diversity  of  nature  in  Switzerland  was  op- 
posed to  a  uniform  system.  Above  all,  he  considered  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  democratic  Landsgemeinde  a  fine  and  historically  note- 
worthy peculiarity,  of  which  Switzerland  ought  not  to  be  deprived. 
But  just  as  little  did  he  desire  the  mere  restoration  of  the  old  order 
of  things ;  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  French  Revolution  was  the 
benefit  of  humanity,  and  the  promotion  of  liberty,  equality,  and  the 
welfare  of  the  people;  and  he  could  not  suffer  a  system  to  be 
adopted  in  Switzerland  which  was  favored  by  Austria  and  in  direct 
opposition  to  France,  or  in  which  adherents  of  the  enemies  of 
France  took  the  lead.  He  therefore  adopted  a  middle  course,  in 
which  proceeding  he  was  constantly  encouraged  by  his  conferences 
and  discussions  with  the  members  of  the  "  Consulta."  He  paid  no 
heed  to  any  opposition,  and  with  rare  sagacity  succeeded  in  silenc- 
ing or  overawing  his  opponents.  After  mature  consideration,  on 
February  19,  1803,  he  submitted  to  the  committee  of  consultation 
an  Act  of  Mediation  compiled  by  himself,  which  he  desired  should  be 
deemed  unalterable  without  any  inquiry  into  the  will  of  the  nation 
itself.  At  the  same  time  he  did  not  fail  to  remind  the  delegates 
that  only  in  this  way  could  Switzerland  be  saved  from  shipwreck, 

2  This  war  is  commonly  called  the  "  Stecklikrieg,"  or  "  Guerre  aux  Batons!' 
from  the  insurgents  having  armed  themselves  with  sticks  (stocke)  and  clubs. 


5ftO  SWITZERLAND 

1803-1804 

and  find  in  him  a  happy  refuge.  In  the  constitution  itself  every- 
thing tended  inevitablv  to  make  Switzerland  dependent  upon 
France. 

As  regarded  the  settlement  of  details,  six  new  cantons  were 
added  to  the  thirteen  old  ones,  formed  out  of  former  common 
domains,  subject-lands,  or  allied  states,  namely,  St.  Gall,  Thurgau, 
the  Grisons,  Ticino,  the  Vaud,  and  Aargau  (to  which  was  added 
the  Fricktal,  the  last  Austrian  possession  in  Switzerland).  Then 
the  Diet  was  reestablished,  in  which  the  people  as  such  were  not 
represented  at  all,  the  delegates  being  bound  by  the  instructions  of 
the  governments  of  the  cantons.  Yet  the  Federal  power  was 
strengthened  by  penalties  laid  upon  all  rebellion  against  the  de- 
cisions of  the  Diet,  and  unity  found  expression  in  the  person  of  a 
"  Landammann."  There  were  to  be  six  seats  of  government,  each 
for  one  year — Fribourg,  Berne,  Soleure,  Basle,  Zurich,  and  Lu- 
cerne. The  burgomaster,  or  mayor  of  the  capital,  was  the  Lan- 
dammann for  the  time  being.  The  subject-lands  and  all  privileges 
of  nobility,  birth,  or  family  were  swept  away.  On  the  other  hand, 
very  few  popular  rights  were  preserved :  there  was  no  mention  of 
the  right  of  petition  or  of  liberty  of  the  press,  nor  even  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people.  The  constitutions  of  the  cantons  re- 
verted to  old  historical  conditions  {Lands gemeinde,  the  guilds,  and 
patricians),  while  the  constitutions  of  the  new  cantons  were  more 
liberal,  the  purchase  of- tithes  and  ground-rent  was  rendered  diffi- 
cult, and  the  suffrage  was  confined  to  those  paying  a  certain  amount 
of  taxes. 

In  consequence  of  its  combination  and  fusion  of  the  old  with 
the  new,  the  "  Mediation  "  was  a  characterless  middle  course,  and, 
as  was  inevitable,  many  traces  of  former  conditions  soon  came 
once  more  to  the  fore,  such  as  titles,  torture,  the  obligation  imposed 
upon  artisans  to  join  a  guild,  the  public  censorship,  etc.  Violent 
irritation  was  also  aroused  by  the  curtailing  of  popular  privileges 
with  regard  to  tithes  and  suffrage.  In  the  canton  of  Zurich  the 
population  along  the  left  bank  of  the  lake  showed  signs  of  insubor- 
dination, especially  those  of  Horgen  under  one  Willi,  a  shoemaker. 
The  military  advanced  against  them  and  took  possession  of 
Horgen,  but  were  obliged  to  retire  before  Willi  and  his  troops 
to  the  heights  of  Bocken  in  April,  1804.  The  country  folk  now 
became  alarmed ;  Willi  could  get  no  reinforcements,  and  the  troops 
succeeded  on  their  second  march  in  completely  disarming  the  in- 


ATTEMPTS     AT     REORGANIZATION    521 

1804-1810 

surgents.  The  leaders  were  taken,  brought  before  an  extraordinary 
court-martial,  and  put  to  death  without  mercy.  The  spirit  of  1795 
seemed  about  to  return.  With  the  exception  of  this  rising,  Switz- 
erland, after  the  reception  of  the  constitution,  enjoyed  eleven 
years  of  peace  and  of  salutary  development,  and  was  happily  enabled 
to  recover  gradually  from  the  wounds  inflicted  upon  her. 

Under  the  protection  of  the  peace,  an  increased  intellectual 
advancement  became  evident  in  every  respect  during  the  time  of  the 
"  Mediation."  The  new  ideas  propagated  by  the  patriots  of  the 
eighteenth  century  silently  permeated  life,  and  gradually  trans- 
formed the  old  historical  conditions.  Now  again,  as  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  progress  was  chiefly  brought  about  by  individual 
societies.  The  Helvetic  Society,  their  jubilant  songs  and  merry 
clinking  of  glasses  drowned  in  the  thunder  of  the  cannon  of  Neue- 
neck  and  Grauholz,  had  had  no  time  to  assemble  during  the  party 
strife  of  the  Helvetic  Constitution,  but  they  now  met  once  more, 
and  endeavored  to  effect  a  reconciliation  of  all  parties  upon  a 
national  basis.  For  the  improvement  of  regulations  concerning 
the  relief  of  the  poor,  education  and  industrial  life  the  Swiss  So- 
ciety for  Public  Benefit  sprang  into  existence;  the  Swiss  society  of 
artists,  founded  by  Martin  Usteri,  aimed  at  giving  a  national  direc- 
tion to  Swiss  art ;  a  society  for  historical  research  and  a  society  of 
Swiss  teachers  were  also  started.  As  a  distraction  from  the  dreary 
political  outlook,  men  immersed  themselves  in  the  life  of  the  people, 
the  natural  beauties  of  their  land  and  its  glorious  past,  and  a  pa- 
triotic spirit  dominated  the  arts  and  sciences.  The  lofty  peaks  of 
the  Alps  were  scaled,  measured,  and  described.  General  Pfyffer 
and  Miiller,  an  engineer  of  Engelberg,  completed  high-relief  maps 
of  the  greater  part  of  Switzerland;  Swiss  atlases  appeared  (such 
as  that  of  Rudolf  Meier),  Swiss  maps  (of  Heinrich  Keller),  de- 
scriptions of  Swiss  plants  (of  Hegetschweiler),  and  delicate,  finely 
engraved  pictures  of  Swiss  towns,  Swiss  costumes,  and  the  festi- 
vals.of  the  Alpenrosen  and  helvetischer  Almanack.  As  a  historian, 
Johann  von  Muller  led  the  van ;  full  of  an  intense  love  of  his  coun- 
try, he  labored  at  this  time  upon  the  flourishing  p>eriod  of  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  centuries,  as  if  to  lay  a  wreath  upon  the  tomb 
of  the  old  Confederation.  This  period  is  characterized  by  the 
special  attention  paid  to  Swiss  history;  popular  histories  of  Switz- 
erland and  histories  for  the  young  (of  Zschokke,  Schuler,  etc.), 
were  written  and  eagerly  read.     Pastor  Stalder  of  Escholzmatt  laid 


62a  SWITZERLAND 

1804-1810 

the  foundation  of  a  Swiss  Idiotikon  or  dictionary  of  dialects;  a 
separate  Swiss  poetry  sprang  into  existence  in  the  popular  dialect, 
specially  through  the  amiable  poet  and  artist  Martin  Usteri  of 
Zurich,  who  wrote  "  De  Herr  Heiri"  and  "  De  Vikari."  With  the 
popular  poetry  there  arose  also  a  nobler  order  of  popular  songs,  of 
which  the  composer,  Hans  Georg  Nageli  of  Wetzikon  (canton  Zu- 
rich), is  still  honored  as  the  founder.  "His  melodies  ring  out  in 
merry  companies,  at  excursions  on  our  lakes,  from  boys  in  the  streets, 
and  the  low  and  worthless  songs  which  had  formerly  been  sung 
could  never  have  been  extirpated  by  any  prohibition  as  they  were 
by  the  '  Nageli-Lieder '  (songs  of  Nageli)."  His  melodies  were 
even  appreciated  in  other  lands;  in  Switzerland  itself  Nageli  be- 
came the  founder  of  choral  societies,  and  a  great  favorite  with  the 
people,  who  called  him  "  Father  Nageli." 

The  beneficent  and  educational  efforts  of  this  period  proved 
a  lasting  blessing  to  the  whole  life  of  the  people.  In  1810  the 
Swiss  Society  for  Public  Benefit  was  founded;  it  numbered  mem- 
bers from  every  canton,  who  now  pledged  themselves  to  labor,  each 
in  his  own  sphere,  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  the  starving,  and  the 
wretched,  and  to  promote  the  establishment  of  almshouses,  or- 
phanges,  poor-funds,  storehouses,  etc.  Savings  banks  came  into 
existence,  the  first  at  Zurich  in  1805,  and  insurance  offices  also. 
Moreover,  in  the  domain  of  material  culture  progress  was  made  in 
various  ways  common  to  the  period;  forestry  and  agriculture  un- 
derwent a  rational  improvement,  the  latter  particularly  through  the 
exertions  of  the  Bernese  Emanuel  von  Fellenberg,  who  erected  an 
agricultural  school  and  model-institute  with  all  the  best  agricul- 
tural appliances  on  his  estate  of  Hofwil,  the  monasteries  of  Kreuz- 
lingen  in  the  Thurgau  and  Altenryf  in  Fribourg  following  his 
example.  Machines  were  introduced  for  cotton  manufactures  in 
Zurich  and  St.  Gall.  But  the  greatest  undertaking  of  this  time 
was  the  Linth  canal,  which  was  achieved  (1804-1822)  through  the 
untiring  and  philanthropic  exertions  of  the  self-sacrificing  Hans 
Konrad  Escher  of  Zurich,  hence  styled  "  von  der  Linth,"  and 
which  forever  rescued  the  population  of  that  district  from  the 
depths  of  misery.^ 

In  educational  and  scholastic  matters  the  activity  of  Pestalozzi, 

first  in  Burgdorf,  and  afterward  in  Yverdon,  attracted  more  and 

more  attention;  with  him  labored  also  his  pupils  Fellenberg  and 

Wehrli.      His  method  of  object-teaching,   training  the   mind  to 

*This  canal  connects  the  Lake  of  Zurich  with  the  Lake  of  Wallenstadt 


ATTEMPTS     AT    REORGANIZATION  523 

1804-1810 

think  and  find  out  for  itself,  was  recognized  as  the  best  by  the 
greatest  thinkers  and  schoolmen  of  the  day,  and  soon  called  forth 
imitation,  both  in  Switzerland  and  other  lands.  But  he  was  him- 
self wanting  in  the  necessary  practical  ability  for  the  manage- 
ment of  an  educational  institute  for  the  poor.  In  this  his  friend 
Emanuel  von  Fellenberg  succeeded  better,  who  during  his  agricul- 
tural exertions  had  noted  with  the  deepest  pain  the  impoverishment 
and  neglect  of  the  lower  classes,  and  founded  a  charitable  institu- 
tion upon  his  already-mentioned  estate.  From  1810  he  intrusted 
the  management  of  the  latter  to  Wehrli,  the  able  and  gifted  friend 
of  the  poor,  and  of  whom  Pestalozzi  joyfully  asserted  that  he 
had  realized  his  idea  of  a  school  for  the  poor.  In  addition  to  this, 
Eellenberg  also  founded  an  institute  for  boys  of  the  upper  classes, 
which  was  greatly  sought  after,  and  held  courses  of  instruction  for 
training  teachers  for  popular  schools.  It  was  reserved  to  the 
canton  of  Aargau  to  erect,  in  1810,  the  first  training  college  for 
teachers  in  Switzerland.  Noteworthy  improvements  were  also 
effected  in  the  system  of  higher  instruction.  Cantonal  schools 
arose  in  Coire  and  Aarau,  grammar-schools  (Gymnasien)  in  the 
Vaud  and  other  parts,  an  institute  for  higher  education  in  St.  Gall, 
a  political  institute  in  Zurich  for  lawyers  and  statesmen ;  Berne  also 
introduced  new  and  excellent  regulations  for  schools. 

While  as  regarded  internal  matters  Switzerland  managed  her 
own  affairs,  toward  the  outer  world  she  took  up  rather  the  position 
of  a  province  of  France,  to  which  country  she  was  bound  by  a 
defensive  alliance  and  a  military  capitulation.  She  had  come  under 
the  yoke  of  her  powerful  mediator,  Napoleon,  who  had  risen  to 
the  rank  of  emperor  in  1804,  and  now  shared  the  fortunes  of  the 
Napoleonic  Empire.  Swiss  trade  suffered  severely  under  the  con- 
tinental blockade :  Napoleon  suddenly  and  most  despotically  placed 
a  military  occupation  in  Ticino,  under  pretense  of  hindering  Eng- 
lish contraband  trade.  Swiss  territory  seemed  to  exist  only  to 
serve  the  interests  of  France :  Neuchatel  became  a  subject  princi- 
pality of  France,  and  in  1810  the  great  emperor  arbitrarily  annexed 
Valais  to  his  empire  as  the  "  Departement  du  Simplon,"  in  order  to 
hold  unconditional  sway  over  the  road  which  he  had  constructed 
across  the  Simplon.  Switzerland  was  also  the  market  where  the 
French  found  their  soldiers.  Federal  troop>s,  always  from  12,000 
to  16,000  in  number,  were  forced  to  fight  for  the  glory  and  aggran- 
dizement of  France  in  Spain,  Austria,  and  lastly  in  Russia,  where 


524p 


SWITZERLAND 


1812-1813 


they  displayed  heroic  courage  and  unrivaled  valor  ?n  1812,  but 
finally  shared  the  miserable  fate  of  the  great  army,  out  of  12,000 
only  2200  remaining !  Any  powerful  or  independent  action  on  the 
part  of  Switzerland  was  impossible ;  "  neutrality  "  was  to  Napoleon 
a  "  word  without  meaning " ;  Switzerland  must  be  guided  by 
France  alone.  The  emperor,  therefore,  purposely  hindered  the 
formation  of  a  strong  Federal  military  force.  His  agents  main- 
tained a  strict  supervision  over  the  Swiss  press  and  all  freedom  of 
speech,  and  the  policy  of  Swiss  statesmen  was  determined  by 
his  will. 

From  the  time  of  the  overthrow  of  the  "  great  army  "  upon 
the  snowfields  of  Russia,  the  power  of  the  "  Emperor  of  the  Uni- 
verse "  was  on  the  wane.  Prussia,  Austria,  and  England  rose  to 
assist  Russia,  and  after  the  "  Battle  of  the  Nations  "  at  Leipsic 
October  16-18,  1813,  the  allies  advanced  toward  the  Rhine  in 
order  to  penetrate  into  France.  Napoleon's  plans  were  thus  frus- 
trated, and  the  question  was  raised  in  Switzerland,  too,  whether 
the  constitution  imposed  by  Napoleon  should  or  should  not  be  any 
longer  preserved.  An  inclination  in  its  favor,  however,  prevailed ; 
it  had  procured  peace  to  the  country,  preserved  certain  liberal  prin- 
ciples, and  given  life  and-  existence  to  six  new  cantons.  Fresh 
storms  and  troubles  were  feared.  The  Diet,  therefore,  declined 
to  join  the  allies,  and  decided  to  observe  their  neutrality  and  to 
raise  an  army. 

But  the  adherents  of  the  old  conditions,  previous  to  1798,  in 
Zurich,  Berne,  etc.,  desired  an  invasion  on  the  part  of  the  allies,  by 
whose  help  they  hoped  to  gain  their  end.  They  formed  the  "  So- 
ciety of  Restoration,"  a  secret  committee  of  which  negotiated  with 
the  allies  at  Waldshut.  The  Swiss  army  was  destined  to  guard  the 
Rhine  frontier  from  Basle  to  Schaffhausen  and  the  Grisons.  But 
the  military  force  of  Switzerland  had  been  crippled  by  Napoleon, 
and  from  motives  of  economy  Landammann  Reinhard  put  insuf- 
ficient troops  in  the  field.  Swiss  statesmen,  too,  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  deceived  by  the  allies  into  thinking  that  there  was  no 
question  of  any  invasion  of  Switzerland.  Hence  they  were  lament- 
ably taken  by  surprise  and  overcome. 

When  the  allies  announced  their  intention  of  invading  the 
country,  General  von  Wattenwil,  who,  considering  the  dispropor- 
tionate inequality  of  his  force  of  12,500  against  160,000  men, 
deemed  any  resistance  not  only  futile,  but  dangerous,  ordered  a 


ATTEMPTS     AT    REORGANIZATION    625 

1813-1814 

retreat  from  the  frontier  on  December  20,  when  not  a  shot  had 
been  fired  for  the  preservation  of  neutrahty.  The  alHes  passed 
quietly  along  the  Rhine  from  Basle  to  Schaffhausen,  and  poured 
into  Swiss  territory  without  finding  any  opposition.  The  imme- 
diate result  of  this  was  the  downfall  of  the  constitution  of  "  Media- 
tion." Metternich,  the  Austrian  minister,  was  specially  active 
toward  its  abolition,  in  spite  of  promises  made  to  Switzerland  that 
her  internal  concerns  should  not  be  interfered  with.  Under  re- 
peated pressure  from  the  Austrian  ambassador  and  from  an  insolent 
emissary  of  Metternich,  the  Count,  of  Senft-Pilsach,  the  "  Media- 
tion" government  in  Berne  resigned  on  December  23,  and  its 
downfall  was  followed  by  that  of  the  governments  of  Soleure, 
Fribourg,  and  Lucerne.  At  the  end  of  December  an  extraordinary 
Diet  assembled  in  Zurich,  and  formally  declared  the  Constitution  of 
Mediation  extinct. 

But  when  it  came  to  the  establishment  of  a  new  order  of 
things,  opinions  were  widely  divided.  Berne  wanted  totally  to 
ignore  all  that  had  passed  since  the  Revolution,  desired  to  get  back 
her  former  subject-lands  of  the  Vaud  and  Aargau,  and  demanded 
the  restoration  of  the  old  Confederation  of  Thirteen  Cantons,  in 
which  she  was  supported  by  the  patrician  states  and  the  formerly 
privileged  democratic  cantons.  The  liberal  towns  on  the  other 
hand  adopted  a  middle  course,  while  the  new  cantons  wished  if 
possible  to  maintain  existing  conditions.  In  opp>osition  to  the 
liberal  Diet  in  Zurich  a  reactionary  one  was  soon  assembled  in 
Lucerne  on  March  20,  and  only  the  menaces  of  the  powers,  de- 
claring themselves  in  favor  of  a  Confederation  of  nineteen  cantons, 
succeeded  in  effecting  an  outward  reconciliation  of  the  two  Diets, 
in  the  beginning  of  April,  1814.  Internal  dissensions,  however, 
continued,  Berne  and  the  cantons  of  similar  opinions  persisting  in 
their  claims  upon  the  subject-lands.  The  cantons  of  Aargau  and 
Vaud,  finding  their  very  existence  thus  threatened,  prepared  for  an 
armed  resistance.  The  claims  of  Schwyz  and  Glarus  gave  rise  to 
tumults  in  Utznach  and  Sargans,  parts  of  the  new  canton  of  St. 
Gall;  as  did  those  of  Uri  in  Livinen  (Val  Leventina),  belonging  to 
the  canton  of  Ticino.  The  canton  of  Ticino  threatened  to  separate 
itself;  the  Grisons  sought  to  repossess  themselves  of  their  former 
domains  in  the  Valtelline,  Cleves,  and  Worms;  Bienne  and  the 
former  bishopric  of  Basle  endeavored  to  obtain  a  union  with 
Switzerland,  as  did  Neuchatel,  Valais,  and  Geneva. 


526 


SWITZERLAND 


1814-1815 

The  Diet,  earnestly  endeavoring  to  quell  the  disturbances,  was 
for  a  long  time  prevented  from  completing  the  scheme  of  the  new 
constitution,  and  the  representatives  of  Prussia,  Austria,  and 
Russia  were  forced  repeatedly  to  urge  dispatch.  It  seemed  impos- 
sible in  Switzerland  to  settle  conflicting  claims,  and  to  agree  upon 
territorial  changes.  At  length  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  which  had 
been  sitting  since  the  autumn  of  1814,  interposed,  in  order  to  re- 


SWrrZERLAND  AFTER  THE 

CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA 

1815 


^      ^       ^       ^       . 


.^en^^^t 


,0    r '      v.; 


BAV  ARI  A 


''         <S  \    I  <^'$P^r^-'C^  Y  R  O   L 


<.  J  ;'■■'  ^"'""iv^  ^''- — -'■' 

^"X    fOHTERWAlBEipu  R   I    ^'■..■•""'  ; 

^  •;     0^     ^"^"""^      J'"^     R     I     s      o      N       s    ;' 


O  M  B  A  R    D 


move  the  chief  causes  of  dispute.  Switzerland  had  sent  delegates 
to  Vienna,  but  even  they  could  not  agree  among  themselves,  and 
actually  opposed  one  another's  measures,  which  caused  great  delay 
in  Swiss  afifairs. 

Meanwhile  Napoleon  had  been  deposed  and  banished  to  Elba. 
Suddenly,  however,  he  returned,  and  in  March,  1815,  attempted 
to  reinstate  his  empire.  The  powers  quickly  combined,  and 
Switzerland,  too,   occupied   her  western   frontier,   under   General 


ATTEMPTS    AT    REORGANIZATION    527 

1814-1815 

Bachmann.  On  March  20,  181 5,  Swiss  matters  were  adjusted  by 
the  congress.  The  powers  started  from  the  assumption  that 
Switzerland  needed  strengthening-  that  she  might  act  as  a  buffer 
against  France.  Valais,  Neuchatel,  and  Geneva  were,  therefore, 
added  as  new  cantons  to  the  nineteen  already  existing,  and  thus  the 
foundation  was  laid  once  for  all  of  the  Confederation  of  twenty- 
two  states.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Valtelline,  Chiavenna,  and 
Worms  had  to  be  surrendered  to  Austria,  and  the  Grisons  were 
forced  to  content  themselves  with  the  hitherto  Austrian  domain  of 
Razuns.  In  regard  to  internal  affairs,  all  claims  upon  the  formerly 
subject-lands  were  declared  null  and  void.  Berne  was  indemnified 
for  the  loss  of  hers  by  receiving  the  greater  part  of  the  bishopric  of 
Basle,  together  with  Bienne;  the  remainder  of  the  bishopric  fell  to 
Basle.  The  indemnities  of  the  remaining  cantons  were  discharged 
in  money. 

Under  foreign  pressure,  Switzerland  in  the  summer  of  181 5 
forsook  her  policy  of  neutrality,  and  took  part  in  the  struggle 
against  Napoleon  by  invading  Upper  Burgundy,  and  also  by  her 
cooperation  in  besieging  and  taking  Hiiningen.*  Thus  fully 
satisfied,  the  powers  appointed  fixed  limits  to  the  territory  of 
Geneva,  and  forced  France  to  pay  an  indemnity  for  her  depreda- 
tions in  1798;  moreover  they,  on  November  20,  1815,  took  the 
territorial  position  of  Switzerland  under  their  protection,  and  ac- 
knowledged her  perpetual  neutrality,  in  which  the  two  provinces 
of  northern  Savoy,  Faucigny,  and  Chablais,  conquered  by  Berne  in 
the  sixteen  century,  were  included. 

During  these  events  the  "  Long  Diet "  at  Zurich  was  evolving 
a  new  Federal  constitution,  the  so-called  "  Federal  Pact,"  which, 
approved  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  was  signed  and  accepted  in 
August,  1815.  During  the  deliberations  many  voices  had  been 
raised  in  favor  of  maintaining  a  strong  Federal  authority,  but  the 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  Diet  were  enthusiastically  attached 
to  the  system  of  petty  states  which  had  prevailed  before  1798;  the 
cantons  hankered  after  their  old  sovereign  rights,  and  the  aris- 
tocracy after  their  privileges.  Thus  the  broad  basis  of  the  Federal 
State  was  totally  abandoned,  and  Switzerland  was  transformed  into 
a  loose  Confederation,  in  which  all  the  twenty-two  cantons  enjoyed 
the  full  right  of  self-government,  and  only  acted  in  concert  in  mat- 

*This   fortress,   erected   by  Louis   XIV.    (1679-1681),   had   always   been   a 
thorn  in  the  side  to  the  Swiss. 


59S  SWITZERLAND 

1815-1820 

ters  of  foreign  policy,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  order 
in  the  interior.  The  system  of  rendering  assistance  and  levying 
troops  was  much  the  same  as  in  the  time  of  the  old  Confederation, 
before  1798,  as  was  also  the  mode  of  settling  internal  disputes. 
There  was  no  distinct  and  unmistakable  prohibition  of  the  privi- 
leges of  certain  states  and  of  birth,  no  mention  of  the  people  being 
at  liberty  to  choose  their  place  of  residence,  or  of  free  trade,  nor 
were  the  rights  of  Swiss  citizenship  established.  It  is  true  that  the 
holding  of  lands  in  subjection  was  forbidden,  but  in  the  enjoyment 
of  political  privileges  exclusiveness  alone  was  prohibited. 

The  Diet  returned  to  the  old  and  cumbersome  system  of  "  In- 
structions," and  the  interchange  of  commerce  between  certain 
leading  states.  Zurich,  Berne,  and  Lucerne  were  to  become  capi- 
tals in  rotation,  changing  every  two  years.  The  continuance  of  the 
religious  houses  was  guaranteed,  so  far  as  depended  upon  the  can- 
tonal governments;  but  a  very  wide  latitude  was  given  to  mercen- 
ary service,  by  the  fact  that  the  settlement  of  military  capitulations 
was  left  to  the  option  of  the  states.  The  constitution  of  the  cantons 
was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  various  states  themselves,  and  in 
them  very  few  concessions  were  made  to  the  less  privileged  classes. 
Four  cantons  almost  entirely  restored  the  old  patrician  constitution 
(Berne,  Fribourg,  Soleure,  and  Lucerne),  and  the  new  cantons  also 
approached  more  nearly  to  the  aristocratic  system  than  during  the 
period  of  the  "  Mediation."  Among  the  civic  cantons  the  chief 
cities  once  more  obtained  the  ascendency.  In  Soleure  the  town  had 
68  representatives,  the  rural  district  only  33 ;  in  Zurich  the  city  had 
130  representatives,  the  country  82;  in  Fribourg  the  town  had  108, 
the  country  only  36;  in  Berne  the  city  200,  the  couritry  only  99. 
The  franchise,  as  also  the  right  to  be  elected,  was  still  more  re- 
stricted, according  to  the  amount  of  property  (Census),  and  thus 
the  dominion  of  the  higher  classes  and  of  the  rich  was  once  more 
established,  though  slightly  enfeebled. 

There  was  no  more  talk  of  popular  liberties.  The  elections 
were  excessively  indirect,  and  the  freedom  of  the  communes  was 
almost  extinct.  The  obligation  of  belonging  to  a  guild  was  once 
more  enforced,  and  torture  also  reappeared. 

This  reaction  corresponded  to  the  alarm  at  all  radical  innova- 
tions, and  the  universal  lassitude  and  stagnation  which  prevailed 
everywhere  after  the  great  revolution.  At  this  time  the  Bernese 
professor,  Karl  L.  von  Haller,  successfully  advocated  opposition  to 


ATTEMPTS     AT     REORGANIZATION    629 

1821-1828 

all  liberal  institutions,  and  the  "  Restoration  of  the  Middle  Ages." 
Liberal  teachers  were  persecuted.  Professor  Troxler,  of  Lucerne, 
who  in  his  book  "  Fiirst  und  Volk "  ^  propagated  democratic 
opinions,  was,  in  1821,  deprived  of  his  appointment.  This  reaction 
was  chiefly  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  "  Holy  Alliance,"  which 
Switzerland  had  joined  in  1817.  Liberal  agitations  becoming  rife 
in  the  surrounding  countries,  the  governments  interposed  with 
persecutions,  and  numberless  fugitives  gathered  in  Switzerland. 
Liberal  pamphlets  indulged  freely  in  criticism  of  the  "  Restora- 
tion "  policy  of  other  lands,  and  the  fugitives  also,  safe  on  Swiss 
soil,  incited  to  rebellion  against  their  home  governments.  At  last 
Switzerland,  long  threatened  by  the  powers,  by  a  decision  of  the 
Diet  (Konklusum),  in  1823,  published  strict  regulations  for  the 
press,  and  laid  restrictions  upon  the  liberty  of  harboring  refugees. 
Switzerland  lay  for  years  under  the  ban  of  the  surrounding 
countries. 

The  church,  too,  helped  the  reaction.  In  18 18  the  Jesuits 
established  themselves  in  Fribourg,  as  they  had  formerly  done  in 
Valais.  Father  Girard,  a  noble  Franciscan,  and  a  friend  of  Pesta- 
lozzi,  who  had  improved  and  renovated  the  instruction  in  the  schools 
of  Fribourg,  was  by  them  persecuted,  and  finally  in  1823  expelled. 
Similar  attacks  were  made,  chiefly  at  the  instigation  of  the  papal 
nuncio  in  Lucerne,  upon  Baron  von  Wessenberg,  vicar-general  of 
the  Bishop  of  Constance,  who  was  laboring  to  further  the  culture 
and  enlightenment  of  the  clergy,  and  to  establish  a  more  popular 
form  of  divine  service,  having  the  sermon  and  the  mass  in  the 
mother-tongue,  hymns,  and  exposition  of  the  gospels.  In  order  to 
withdraw  his  influence  from  Switzerland,  he  was  removed  from  the 
bishopric  of  Constance  in  181 5  by  a  papal  decree,  and  placed 
under  an  apostolical  vicar,  Goldlin,  provost  of  Beromiinster.  After 
the  death  of  Goldlin,  in  18 19,  the  Catholics  of  the  east  of  Switzer- 
land came  under  the  direction  of  the  Bishop  of  Coire;  in  1828,  how- 
ever, a  number  of  cantons  (Berne,  Soleure,  Lucerne,  Zug,  Aargau, 
Thurgau,  and  Basle)  revived  the  bishopric  of  Basle,  and  placed  its 
seat  in  Soleure.  From  this  time  the  papal  system  struck  its  roots 
deeper  and  deeper  in  Catholic  Switzerland,  and  "  Ultramontan- 
ism  "  ®  prevailed,  while  the  relations  between  Catholic  and  Prot- 

^  "  Prince  and  People." 

« From   ultra   monies,  "beyond   the   mountains,"   meaning  the  papal   seat 
south  of  the  Alps. 


530  SWITZERLAND 

1828-1824 

estants  were  almost  as  strained  as  they  were  in  the  seventeenth 
century. 

Thus  beneath  the  weight  of  the  poHcy  of  restoration  it  seemed 
as  though  all  free  development  must  be  stifled :  yet  the  spirit  of  the 
people  could  not  remain  forever  fettered,  and  even  during  the  time 
of  oppression  it  was  gathering  strength  in  order  the  sooner  to  gain 
a  free  field.  Patriotic  enthusiasm,  which  had  shown  itself  in  many 
ways  during  the  time  of  the  "  Mediation,"  was  still  at  work ;  for 
instance,  creative  art  still  gave  the  preference  to  patriotic  subjects 
— witness  the  painters  Vogel  in  Zurich  and  Disteli  in  Olten.  The 
poets,  too,  chose  subjects  which  kindled  the  people:  Abraham 
Emanuel  Frohlich,  of  Aargau,  in  his  fables  lashed  the  abuses  of  the 
time,  and  the  Bernese  J.  Rudolf  Wyss  the  younger  gave  Switzer- 
land her  thrilling  national  anthem  in  the  song  "  Rufst  du,  mein 
Vaterland."  "^  Men  turned  once  more  to  seek  their  country,  and 
finding  its  very  conception  lost  to  all  appearance,  they  lived  upon 
the  memory  of  their  splendid  past,  erecting  monuments  to  patriotic 
heroes,  such  as  the  obelisk  at  Morat,  the  Mengistein,  and  the  monu- 
ment at  St.  Jakob  an  der  Birs.  The  younger  generation  was  im- 
bued with  a  spirit  of  exertion  and  creation,  "  free  progress  "  was 
written  on  their  banners,  and  a  number  of  newly  founded  societies 
grew  into  workshops  where  the  times  were  remodeled.  From  1815 
the  Society  for  Natural  Research  had  united  the  learned  forces  of 
Switzerland;  the  Association  of  Zofingen,  founded  in  1819,  united 
all  the  students  of  Switzerland  upon  the  basis  of  scientific  effort 
and  patriotic  enthusiasm.  Patriotic  feeling  was  strengthened  by 
the  Society  of  Sempach,  and  by  the  shooting  matches  which  were 
held  regularly  after  1824,  when  the  first  gathering  of  the  Rifle 
Association  took  place  in  Aarau.  A  similar  effect  was  everywhere 
produced  by  gymnastic  and  choral  societies. 

None  of  these  societies,  however,  took  up  so  determined  and 
aggressive  an  attitude  as  did  the  Helvetic  Society.  Since  its  re- 
assembling at  Schinznach  in  18 19,  when  the  noise  of  war  had 
ceased,  the  policy  of  a  merely  hesitating  and  cautious  opposition 
against  existing  conditions  was  abandoned,  all  aristocratic  tend- 
encies were  shaken  off,  and  it  was  formally  converted  into  a  politi- 
cal association,  its  chief  aim  being  to  combat  the  abuses  of  the 
**  Restoration."  Thaddaus  Miiller,  a  minister  of  the  town  of 
Lucerne,  as  president  of  the  society,  in  1821  attacked  the  intrigues 
'  "  Callest  thou,  O  my  fatherland." 


ATTEMPTS     AT     REORGANIZATION    531 

1815-1830 

of  the  hierarchy,  while  Troxler  combated  the  condition  of  intellec- 
tual tutelage.  Johann  Kaspar  Orelli,  the  philologist  of  Zurich, 
before  a  large  assembly  of  friends,  drew  a  lively  picture  of  the 
policy  of  "  Restoration  "  as  a  whole,  its  intellectual  darkness,  the 
censure  of  the  press,  mercenary  service,  the  spirit  of  persecution, 
etc.,  urging  his  hearers  to  exert  themselves  for  the  revival  of  mental 
culture,  and  comforting  the  more  enlightened  with  the  assurance 
that  truth  had  always  proved  victorious  in  spite  of  scorn  and 
opposition. 

The  Federal  Pact  of  1815  became  in  1829  the  subject  of  a 
cutting  criticism  by  Zschokke,  who  lauded  national  unity,  which  he 
considered  better  expressed  in  the  Act  of  Mediation  than  in  the 
pact,  and  placed  before  the  society  the  noble  aim  of  laboring  for 
such  national  unity.  In  May,  1830,  Dr.  Schinz,  the  chief  justice 
of  Zurich,  proclaimed  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  general  alteration, 
and  would  have  all  governments  recognize  that  they  "  exist  only 
from  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people."  Thus  was  ex- 
pressed the  principle  of  the  new  revolution,  the  establishment  of  a 
representative  democracy. 

The  press  chiefly  contributed  to  this  revolution,  having  ac- 
quired considerable  influence  over  the  public  life  since  the  French 
Revolution.  Liberal  movements  found  advocates  in  the  Neue 
Ziirche  Zeitung  of  Paul  Usteri,  in  Zschokke's  Schweizerhote,  and 
in  the  Appenzelle  Zeitung,  established  in  Trogen  in  1828.  The 
latter  became  the  organ  of  all  the  Swiss  radicals;  they  criticised 
the  abuses  which  were  coming  to  light  on  all  sides,  and  that  in  no 
measured  terms. 

But  before  the  reform  was  introduced  into  Federal  territory, 
several  states  had  attempted  to  remodel  the  cantons;  these  were 
specially  Lucerne,  Appenzell,  the  Vaud,  and  Ticino.  The  new 
aristocracy  in  Lucerne  was  overthrown  in  1829  by  the  efforts  of  the 
brothers  Kasimir  and  Eduard  Pfyffer,  and  a  division  of  power 
was  undertaken ;  the  small  council  lost  the  right  of  recruiting  itself, 
and  the  title  of  "  Town  and  Republic  "  was  abolished.  In  Inner 
Rhodes  of  Appenzell  a  revision  was  pushed  through  in  1829,  ex- 
tending the  rights  of  the  Lands gcmcinde.  Through  the  influence 
of  the  dauntless  Paul  Usteri  the  censure  was  abolished  in  Zurich, 
upon  which,  in  1829,  the  Diet  also  abandoned  the  Konklusum, 
while  the  authority  of  the  great  council  was  strengthened.     In  the 


532 


SWITZERLAND 


1830 

Vaud  the  demand  for  reform  became  more  and  more  urgent, 
especially  after  it  had  been  proposed  by  Laharpe  in  May,  1829.  But 
in  Ticino  the  most  fundamental  alterations  were  necessary,  for  here 
the  old  abuses  which  had  existed  before  1798,  such  as  corruption, 
waste,  and  nepotism,  had  been  brought  back.  Under  the  direction 
of  the  teacher  and  editor  Franscini  a  total  revision  in  a  democratic 
spirit  was  drawn  up,  which  in  June,  1830,  was  accepted  by  the 
people. 


I 


Chapter    XI 

INTERNAL   REORGANIZATION.    1 830-1 848 

IN  Switzerland  as  elsewhere  the  "  Revolution  of  July "  in 
France  gave  a  great  impulse  to  the  movements  which  were 
already  in  agitation,  and  lent  them  great  force.  They  were 
welcomed  with  joy  by  the  reform  party,  and  the  current  soon 
spread  through  every  rank  of  society.  Demands  for  revision  in- 
creased daily;  the  press  revived  with  redoubled  vigor:  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  people,  equality  of  rights,  separation  of  the  f>owers, 
publicity  of  discussion,  and  the  freedom  of  the  press  became  watch- 
words. Tumultuous  movements  now  followed  one  another  in 
quick  succession  in  the  hitherto  quiet  cantons.  In  Aargau  an 
assembly  of  Liberals  at  Lenzburg  directed  a  petition  to  the  govern- 
ment on  September  12,  1830,  desiring  that  a  revision  might  be 
taken  in  hand;  and  the  government  receiving  it  coldly  and  with 
hesitation,  a  popular  assembly  at  Wohlenswil  on  November  7  em- 
phatically demanded  a  thorough  change  of  constitution.  In  Thur- 
gau  Pastor  Bornhauser,  of  Matzingen,  proclaimed  the  rosy  dawn 
of  a  new  day  with  enthusiasm,  and  appealed  to  his  hearers  to  better 
the  constitution.  The  first  popular  assembly  in  Weinfelden,  on  Octo- 
ber 22,  voted  for  a  total  revision,  and  a  second  at  the  same  place, 
on  November  18,  required  direct  popular  elections  of  new  officials 
and  publicity  of  discussions.  The  council  of  Burgdorf,  headed  by 
the  brothers  Ludwig  Schnell,  town  clerk,  and  Karl  Schnell,  barris- 
ter, demanded  of  the  Bernese  Government  a  reform  of  the  constitu- 
tion, in  October ;  and  in  Porrentruy  violent  tumults  took  place,  pur- 
porting to  effect  their  separation  from  Berne.  In  Basle,  too,  the 
country  district,  led  by  Liestal,  demanded  full  equality  of  rights 
with  the  town,  and  an  assembly  of  delegates  from  the  communes  in 
Bubendorfer-Bade,  on  November  18,  required  a  revision  of  the 
constitution.  A  similar  demand  was  made  by  an  assembly  at 
Ohen,  in  Soleure.  In  Lucerne  the  exiled  Professor  Troxler  fanned 
the  flame  by  spreading  broadcast  through  the  land  a  i>amphlet  re- 
quiring full  restoration  of  popular  rights.     A  popular  assembly 

533 


534.  SWITZERLAND 

1830 

at  Sursee  on  November  21   espoused  the  same  cause  with  one 
consent. 

These  efforts  for  the  most  part  failed  to  reach  the  goal  at  once ; 
the  aristocracies  clung  fast  to  existing  conditions.  The  govern- 
ments of  Lucerne  and  Thurgau  hesitated,  the  councils  of  Soleure 
and  Basle  resisted,  and  Berne  actually  made  preparations  to  sup- 
press all  by  the  help  of  the  military;  and  being  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, even  exhorted  the  members  of  the  Federation  by  a  public 
appeal  to  take  measures  against  the  movement.  In  this  danger 
Zurich  placed  herself  at  the  head  of  Swiss  liberalism,  rejected  the 
suggestions  of  Berne,  and  aided  the  victory  of  freedom.  Not  alto- 
gether in  vain  had  such  men  as  Paul  Usteri,  Escher  von  der  Linth, 
Hirzel  the  magistrate,  Hottinger,  and  Professor  Johann  Kaspar 
Orelli  been  laboring  for  Liberal  reform  ever  since  about  1820.  Even 
had  the  attempt  been  vain  to  improve  the  common  system  of  schools 
they  had  at  least  succeeded  in  abolishing  the  censure  and  arousing 
political  thought. 

There  was  still  great  uncertainty  as  to  how  to  adjust  the  relative 
positions  of  the  towns  and  the  country  districts;  an  assembly  of 
councilors  from  the  rural  district  held  at  Uster  in  October  formu- 
lated very  moderate  demands  as  to  the  revision  of  constitution 
required  by  them,  and  still  yielded  precedence  to  the  town  in  the 
matter  of  representation.  It  was  reserved  to  a  fugitive  stranger 
from  Nassau,  Dr.  Ludwig  Snell,  to  give  the  movement  a  wider  aim. 
As  a  German  professor  he  had  taken  part  in  the  patriotic  struggles 
for  liberty  of  the  years  1817-1820;  but  when  these  were  frustrated 
he  was  driven  out  by  the  prevailing  spirit  of  persecution,  and  finally 
banished  to  Switzerland,  where  he  allied  himself  to  the  zealous  par- 
tisans of  reform,  fought  for  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  endeavored 
specially  to  influence  Zurich,  which  he  looked  upon  as  the  intellec- 
tual head  of  the  Confederation.  At  the  time  of  the  revolution  in 
Paris  he  met  with  some  of  the  most  influential  citizens  of  Zurich 
upon  the  Rigi;  their  narrow-minded  views  of  the  reforms  to  be 
undertaken  induced  him  to  try  to  convert  Zurich  to  the  principles  of 
equality  of  rights  for  the  citizens  of  every  canton,  the  sovereignty 
of  the  people,  and  popular  education.  He  wanted  to  establish 
"  Constitutional  Councils  "  ( Verfassungsr'dte) ,  and  was  the  first 
to  use  this  expression.  Enlightened  as  to  the  general  condition  of 
things  in  the  canton  of  Zurich  by  his  interview  with  some  of  her 
citizens,  he  was  made  more  intimately  acquainted  with  the  discon- 


INTERNAL     REORGANIZATION  636 

1830 

tent  and  desires  of  the  population  around  the  Lake  of  Zurich  by  his 
friend  Dr.  Streuli  in  Kiissnach,  and  when  pressed  by  Dr.  Streuli  to 
formulate  their  wishes  publicly  in  a  definite  form,  he  drew  up  the 
"  Memorial  of  Kiissnach  "  in  concert  with  the  communal  associa- 
tion of  Kiissnach,  setting  forth  the  programme  of  reform.  Accord- 
ing to  this  memorial,  which  produced  a  great  effect,  the  country 
district  was  to  elect  by  universal  suffrage  two-thirds  of  the  212 
representatives  in  the  great  council,  who  should  thus  form  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  sovereign  people;  the  division  of  powers,  pub- 
licity of  administration,  the  abolition  of  the  "  Census,"  or  limited 
suffrage,  the  right  of  petition  and  liberty  of  the  press  were  further 
required.  In  order  to  work  upon  the  government  by  a  popular 
public  demonstration,  an  assembly  in  Stafa  summoned  a  popular 
assembly.  At  the  latter,  which  took  place  on  November  22,  1830, 
at  Uster,  12,000  burghers  were  present.  Jakob  Gujer,  of  Bauma, 
opened  the  assembly,  asserting  its  purpose  to  be  to  remodel  the 
hitherto  imperfect  and  insufficient  constitution  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  people  and  the  spirit  of  the  time.  Hegetschweiler,  of 
Stafa,  recalled  the  words  of  Schiller: 

"Ye  may  dread  the  slave  when  his  fetters  break. 
But  in  face  of  the  Freeman  never  shake ! " 

Steffan  von  Wadenswil  spoke  in  favor  of  material  alleviations  and 
educational  reforms.  The  assembly  bore  itself  with  gravity  and 
dignity,  and  unanimously  declared  itself  in  favor  of  the  wishes 
expressed,  which  were  subsequently  embodied  in  a  new  form  as  the 
"  Memorial  of  Uster,"  and  laid  before  the  great  council.  This 
"  Day  of  Uster  "  made  a  decisive  impression ;  the  government  did 
not  dare  to  defy  the  power  of  public  opinion,  and  therefore,  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  assembly  of  Uster,  ordered  the  immediate 
election  of  a  new  great  council.  Snell's  scheme  was  taken  as  the 
basis  of  the  deliberations  upon  the  new  constitution,  and  with  this 
regeneration  or  transformation  of  public  conditions  a  new  era  in 
the  history  of  Zurich  was  introduced. 

These  events  in  Zurich  made  a  powerful  impression  upon  the 
rest  of  Switzerland,  and  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  the  Liberal 
cause.  Fresh  agitations  immediately  commenced  in  the  other 
cantons.  Morat,  the  active  and  Protestant  German  town  in  the 
canton  of  Fribourg,  was  the  first  to  raise  its  voice  against  the  exist- 
ing constitution  on  November  25,  and  the  great  council  hesitating, 


536  SWITZERLAND 

1830 

the  exasperated  populace  rushed  in  arms  upon  the  capital  and 
extorted  a  revision,  while  in  December  the  Landsturm  of  the  can- 
tons of  Aargau  and  Vaud  forced  the  towns  to  yield.  The  excite- 
ment of  the  factions  so  wrought  upon  the  governments  of  St.  Gall 
and  Lucerne  that  they  could  no  longer  remain  passive.  In  St. 
Gall  the  revision  was  mooted  by  Jakob  Baumgartner,  the  chancellor 
(Staatsschreiber) ,  and  the  government  hesitating  (especially  the 
Landammann  Miiller-Friedberg) ,  various  popular  assemblies  in 
Wattwil,  Altstatten  (December  5),  and  St.  Gallenkappel,  demanded 
radical  reforms,  and  the  government  yielded.  The  Government  of 
Lucerne,  too,  after  fresh  menaces,  complied  with  the  demands  of 
the  people  by  summoning  a  constitutional  council  on  December  10. 
On  December  22  a  popular  assembly  at  Balsthal,  in  Soleure,  where 
Joseph  Munzinger  proclaimed  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  in  im- 
passioned words,  declared  itself  in  favor  of  revision,  and  the 
Landsturm  also  bringing  its  threats  to  bear,  the  great  council  ceded 
the  request. 

The  greatest  opposition  to  all  Liberal  efforts  still  continued  at 
Berne,  which  was  prepared  to  suppress  the  movement,  and  con- 
tinued to  encourage  the  other  cantons  to  withstand  the  revision. 
The  Bernese  Government  had  recourse  to  an  extraordinary  Diet, 
which  assembled  on  December  2;^,  in  order  to  consult  upon  the 
military  measures  to  be  taken  on  account  of  the  menacing  danger  of 
a  war  in  France  and  Germany;  and  the  government  endeavored  to 
further  the  cause  of  reaction  by  requiring  the  Diet  to  interpose  in 
favor  of  former  conditions.  Zurich,  however,  the  head  of  Liberal- 
ism, entered  an  energetic  protest  against  the  placing  of  any 
hindrance  in  the  way  of  the  efforts  of  the  cantons  for  the  improve- 
ment of  their  constitutions,  alleging  that  only  the  speedy  and  un- 
hindered completion  of  the  work  could  secure  peace  at  home,  and 
that  combined  warlike  measures  were  out  of  place  except  in  the 
case  of  attacks  from  without.  This  view  was  upheld  by  those 
cantons  where  the  revolution  was  either  completed  or  already  in 
train ;  and  hence,  to  the  great  dissatisfaction  of  the  foreign  powers, 
the  Diet  decided  to  preserve  unanimously  with  life  and  property  a 
strict  neutrality  toward  the  storm  and  strife  of  other  lands,  but  not 
to  interfere  in  any  way  with  'the  constitutional  reforms  of  the 
cantons.  This  served  as  a  distinct  warning  for  Berne,  and  while 
the  revolutionary  movement  was  encouraged,  the  Bernese  Govern- 
ment realized  that  its  power  was  shattered.     A  popular  assembly 


INTERNAL     REORGANIZATION.         637 

1831 

conducted  by  the  brothers  Schnell  at  Munsingen  on  January  lo, 
183 1,  threatened  violent  action  if  a  constitutional  council  were 
not  summoned  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  acknowledged, 
and  at  length  the  great  council  yielded. 

Thus  hopes  were  everywhere  aroused  that  the  reform  might  be 
peaceably  accomplished;  but  in  Basle  it  was  less  successful.  Here 
the  great  council  obstinately  maintained  the  precedence  of  the 
town;  the  country-folk,  however,  adhered  with  equal  firmness  to 
their  radical  demands.  On  January  4,  1831,  a  popular  assembly  at 
Liestal  protested,  and  determined  to  establish  a  separate  govern- 
ment, which  actually  came  to  pass.  The  town,  exasperated,  made 
military  preparations,  and  a  battle  ensued.  The  townspeople  got 
the  start  of  the  country-folk,  and  gained  the  victory ;  the  insurgents 
were  dispersed,  Liestal  received  a  military  occupation,  and  the  rural 
district  was  completely  subjugated  (January  13-15,  1831).  A 
Federal  deputation  established  a  hollow  peace  in  the  town's  favor, 
making  the  representation  of  the  latter  almost  equal  to  that  of  the 
rural  district,  the  country  seventy-nine,  and  the  town  seventy-five. 
This  defeat  of  the  country-folk  of  Basle,  however,  appealed  to  all 
the  Liberals  of  Switzerland  to  throw  themselves  into  the  struggle, 
and  a  plan  was  formed  for  a  great  popular  expedition  of  riflemen 
against  Basle ;  but  this,  happily,  was  not  carried  into  execution. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1831  constitutional  councils  met 
almost  everywhere,  and  in  the  first  half  of  the  year  the  constitutions 
of  Soleure,  Aargau,  Zurich,  St.  Gall,  Thurgau,  the  Vaud,  Schaff- 
hausen,  and  Berne  (partially)  were  successively  accepted  by  a 
splendid  majority  of  the  people.  So  much  the  less  could  the  coun- 
try people  in  the  canton  of  Basle  now  be  pacified.  The  town 
refused  to  grant  an  unconditional  amnesty ;  the  civil  war  broke  out 
afresh,  and.  the  two  districts  actually  confronted  one  another  as  two 
states  with  separate  governments.  The  town  of  Basle,  however, 
refusing  all  concessions,  the  calm  was  but  temporary.  After  re- 
peated excesses  had  been  committed  by  the  country-folk  in  August, 
1 83 1,  the  town  undertook  a  second  expedition,  which,  however, 
failed,  and  led  to  a  complete  separation  in  February,  1832.  Only 
after  a  third  encounter,  which  took  place  at  Gelterkinden  on  April 
6  and  7,  and  again  proved  disastrous  for  the  town,  and  after  the 
failure  of  repeated  efforts  at  mediation,  did  the  Diet  at  length 
resolve,  on  September  14,  1832,  upon  a  division  of  the  canton  into 
two  parts — the  town  with  the  twenty-one  communes  which  still 


638  •  SWITZERLAND 

1832 

adhered  to  it,  and  the  rural  district  with  forty-six  communes,^ 
while  in  twelve  other  communes  the  separation  had  still  to  be  put 
to  the  vote.  Similar  disturbances  agitated  the  canton  of  Schwyz. 
Here  also  a  separation  took  place,  but  it  proved  only  temporary. 
In  April,  1832,  the  "  outer  districts,"  that  is  to  say,  the  purchased 
or  conquered  portions,  which  were  in  many  ways  at  a  disadvantage 
compared  to  the  old  original  communes  of  Schwyz,  and  enjoyed 
fewer  privileges,  separated  themselves,  and  became  the  "  outer  coun- 
try," consisting  of  the  districts  of  March,  Einsiedeln,  Pfaffikon, 
and  (later)  Kiissnach,  under  the  direction  of  Lachen,  and  received 
the  assent  of  the  Diet. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  town  and  rural  districts  of  Basle,  and  the 
inner  and  outer  lands  of  Schwyz,  so  Upper  and  Lower  Valais 
threatened  to  separate,  the  former  still  refusing  to  abandon  all 
supremacy  over  the  latter.  But  the  attempt  at  separation  made 
by  the  Lower  Valais  was  frustrated  by  Federal  troops. 

A  violent  conflict  took  place  in  monarchical  Neuchatel.  A 
republican  faction  there  desired  to  be  separated  from  Prussia,  and 
in  September,  1831,  endeavored  to  accomplish  their  end  by  force, 
but  without  success.  A  second  outbreak  in  December  resulted  in 
the  defeat  of  the  Republicans;  the  Prussian  faction  gained  the 
upper  hand,  and  in  1832  urged  a  separation  from  Switzerland. 

During  these  disturbances  in  Basle,  Schwyz,  and  Neuchatel 
the  revision  of  the  cantonal  constitutions  was  brought  to  a  con- 
clusion. The  cantons  of  Geneva,  the  Grisons,  Unterwalden,  Uri, 
and  Zug  remained  comparatively  undisturbed,  and  made  no 
changes  in  their  constitutions;  some,  like  Geneva  and  the  Grisons, 
because  no  pressing  grievances  presented  themselves;  others,  be- 
cause a  powerful  and  predominant  faction,  chiefly  clerical,  nipped 
every  innovation  in  the  bud.  But  wherever  new  constitutions  were 
introduced,  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  and  equality  of  rights 
were  accepted  as  first  principles. 

In  all  parts  great  stress  was  now  laid  upon  the  political  repre- 
sentation of  the  people,  which  was  no  longer  regulated  by  the 
government,  but  on  the  contrary  exercised  a  species  of  control  over 
that  body.  Baselland  and  St.  Gall  even  introduced  the  veto.  All 
the  constitutions  alike  established  publicity  of  administration,  the 
publication  of  the  debates   of  the  great  council   and  of  judicial 

*  These  two  halves,   forming  one   canton,   are  known   as   Baselstadt    (the 
town  of  Basle),  and  Baselland  (the  rural  district  of  Basle). 


INTERNAL     REORGANIZATION  639 

1830-1832 

affairs,  and  a  proportionate  division  of  the  public  burdens,  and  en- 
deavored to  institute  more  liberal  communal  regulations.  Liberty 
of  the  press  and  of  assembly,  the  right  of  petition,  liberty  of  trade, 
and  free  choice  of  residence  were  guaranteed.  Finally,  a  funda- 
mental improvement  of  the  educational  system  was  projected. 

But  the  constitutions  of  all  the  different  cantons  did  not  carry 
these  principles  into  execution  with  equal  thoroughness.  Many 
towns,  such  as  Lucerne,  Zurich,  Schaffhausen,  Soleure,  and  St.  Gall, 
still  possessed  certain  privileges  in  the  way  of  representation,  and 
in  most  cantons  the  system  of  direct  election  was  not  immediately 
introduced,  but  a  mixed  system,  and  in  Fribourg-  and  Berne  the 
elections  were  indirect  only.  In  like  manner  the  three  powers  were 
not  at  first  equally  sharply  defined  in  all  the  cantons,  nor  religious 
liberty  fully  established ;  for  instance,  in  Lucerne  the  franchise  was 
only  extended  to  Catholics,  and  in  Fribourg  the  suffrage  was  with- 
drawn from  those  undergoing-  ecclesiastical  penance.  Thus  in 
most  of  the  cantons  only  a  stage  of  transition  had  been  reached,  in 
which  preparations  could  be  made  for  the  gradual  expansion  of  the 
constitution  with  progressive  experience,  for  all  the  constitutions 
provided  for  a  future  revision,  and  that  at  no  very  distant  date  in 
many  cases. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  these  cantonal  reforms  efforts  had 
been  made  to  carry  reform  into  the  sphere  of  the  Federal  constitu- 
tion. All  noble  spirits  were  once  more  inspired  by  the  beautiful 
dream  of  those  Swiss  patriots  of  the  middle  of  the  previous  century. 
That  which  had  been  exaggerated  by  the  Helvetic  Constitution  and 
lightly  discarded  by  the  Restoration,  seemed  now  capable  of  realiza- 
tion: national  unity,  the  creation  of  a  united  and  strong  political 
system  in  Switzerland.  Under  the  Restoration,  Zschokke  had 
specially  urged  the  necessity  of  strengthening  the  Federal  authority, 
which  was  also  advocated  by  Paul  Usteri  in  Zurich  during  the 
tumults  of  1830.  Then,  in  January,  1831,  when  the  Diet  removed 
to  Lucerne,  Dr.  Kasimir  Pfyffer  in  eloquent  words  encouraged  his 
native  town  to  move  the  revision  of  the  Confederation,  complained 
that  the  people  were  not  represented  in  the  Confederation,  and  re- 
quired that  the  lax  political  league  should  be  converted  into  a  firm 
Federal  state  with  national  institutions.  The  idea  was  eagerly 
discussed  first  of  all  in  the  Helvetic  Society,  of  which  Pfyffer  was 
president;  Dr.  Ludwig  Keller  in  Zurich,  Landammann  Sidler  in 
Zug,   and  Joseph   Munzinger  in   Soleure   allied   themselves   with 


540 


SWITZERLAND 


1830-1832 

Pfyffer  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  the  soil  for  a  revision  of  the 
Confederation. 

On  May  25,  1831,  the  Government  of  Thurgau  gave  official 
expression  to  this  demand  by  moving  a  revision  of  the  Federal  Pact 
of  181 5  in  an  address  to  the  capital.  The  Diet,  indeed,  received 
the  suggestion  coldly,  but  it  was  loudly  echoed  by  public  opinion. 
In  September,  1831,  a  Swiss  Rifle  Association  was  started  through- 
out the  country  with  a  view  to  paving  the  way  for  Federal  re- 
vision. Almost  immediately  afterward,  on  March  17,  1832,  the 
seven  Liberal  cantons  of  Lucerne,  Zurich,  Berne,  Soleure,  St.  Gall, 
Aargau,  and  Thurgau  formed  an  alliance  for  the  mutual  security 
of  their  new  constitutions,  and  for  the  carrying  out  of  Federal 
reform  (Siebnerkonkordat) .  This  was  done  in  self-defense,  but 
it  had  very  bad  results.  An  address  in  favor  of  revision,  with 
almost  10,000  votes  attached,  was  forwarded  to  the  Diet.  The 
latter  finally  yielded  by  passing  a  resolution  in  favor  of  revision  on 
July  17,  1832,  and  appointing  a  commission  to  draw  up  a  scheme. 
After  wearisome  discussions,  the  commission  acquitted  itself  of 
its  task  by  the  following  December.  Its  work  was  essentially  the 
product  of  the  predominating  faction  in  the  commission,  the  so- 
called  juste-milieu  party,  the  advocates  of  a  middle  course,  who 
only  d'esired  a  partial  improvement  of  existing  conditions;  hence 
it  was  but  a  patchwork  of  half-measures,  which  satisfied  no  one. 

Many  among  the  Liberals  were  against  the  scheme,  because  it 
did  not  go  far  enough  (especially  in  the  matter  of  popular  repre- 
sentation) ;  the  more  so  as  the  propositions  of  the  commission  were 
afterward  still  further  curtailed  at  the  conference  of  the  Diet. 
Among  the  adherents  of  the  old  regime,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
efforts  of  centralization  aroused  the  alarm  of  their  old  bugbear,  the 
united  Helvetic  State,  and  at  last  most  of  the  cantons  absolutely 
declined  to  cede  in  the  interests  of  the  whole  community  any  of 
the  rights  and  privileges  which  they  had  hitherto  enjoyed. 

Unfortunately,  too,  foreign  influence  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  matter.  After  the  leading  powers,  Prussia  and  Austria, 
had  introduced  the  most  complete  reaction  into  Germany,  and 
suppressed  the  revolutionary  movements,  they  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  the  efforts  for  reform  which  were  being  made  in  Switzer- 
land, and  used  all  their  influence  in  favor  of  the  maintenance  of 
the  Federal  Pact  of  181 5.  Thus  encouraged,  the  delegates  of  the 
six    states    of    Basle,    Uri,    Schwyz,    Unterwalden,    Valais,    and 


INTERNAL     REORGANIZATION  641 

■        18S8 

Neuchatel  assembled  at  Sarnen  on  November  14,  and  at  once  an- 
nounced their  opposition  to  the  division  of  Basle,  and  to  the  ad- 
mission to  the  Diet  of  delegates  from  the  rural  district  of  Basle 
and  from  Outer  Schwyz,  such  divisions  being  a  breach  of  the 
league.  They  hoped  thus  to  bring  the  whole  matter  of  Federal 
revision  to  the  ground  at  once;  then,  relying  upon  foreign  powers, 
they  sedulously  opposed  the  scheme  at  the  Federal  Diet,  and  poured 
their  scorn  upon  the  Ochsenbikhlein,  or  "  Little  Book  of  Ochs," 
and  upon  the  Kasimirfutterung,  ^  or  "  cashmere  lining "  of  the 
Federal  shepherd's  shirt. 

Finally,  they  assembled  a  special  Diet  at  Schwyz,  and  there 
formed  a  formal  Sonderhund,  or  separate  league.  The  Diet  of 
Zurich  held  its  ground,  and  in  April  decreed  also  the  division  of 
Schwyz.  But  in  July,  1833,  there  being  no  enthusiasm  in  any 
party  in  favor  of  the  Federal  constitution,  it  was  rejected  by  popu- 
lar vote.  This  gave  the  signal  for  a  fresh  reaction.  Disregarding 
the  decision  of  the  Diet  concerning  the  separation  of  Schwyz, 
Colonel  Abyberg,  one  of  the  chief  leaders  of  the  leaguers  of  Sarnen, 
summoned  by  the  distressed  Conservatives,  advanced  with  troops 
from  Schwyz  upon  Kiissnach,  and  occupied  it  on  July  31,  1833. 
This  open  defiance  of  the  Federal  authority  aroused  an  immense 
sensation,  and  had  the  effect  of  an  evil  example  upon  the  already 
strained  relations  between  the  half-cantons  of  Basle.  Under 
pressure  from  the  Conservatives,  Colonel  Vischer  advanced  upon 
Liestal  with  troops  and  artillery,  in  order  to  protect  the  adherents 
of  the  town  in  the  country,  but  was  repulsed  on  August  3  in  a  san- 
guinary battle  on  the  heights  of  Pratteln.  The  Diet  thereupon  de- 
clared both  proceedings  to  be  a  breach  of  the  Federal  League,  and 
sent  military  forces  and  commissioners  into  both  cantons :  the  mem- 
bers of  the  League  of  Sarnen  evacuated  Schwyz,  and  the  Diet, 
maintaining  its  position  with  energy,  decreed  the  dissolution  of 
the  League  of  Sarnen ;  whereupon  most  of  the  emissaries  forming 
the  conference  of  Sarnen  resumed  their  places  in  the  Diet. 

The  disturbances  in  Basle  and  Schwyz,  and  also  in  Neuchatel, 
were  happily  settled  for  the  moment.  In  Schwyz  a  reunion  of 
the  two  parts  was  effected;  in  Basle  a  fresh  partition  was  made, 
by  which  Baselstadt  kept  only  the  three  communes  of  Riehen, 
Bettingen,  and  Klein-Hiiningen.     Federal  revision,  however,  was 

*The  first  an  allusion  to  the  Helvetic  Constitution  drawn  up  by  Ochs  in 
1798,  the  second  to  the  appeal  of  Dr.  Kasimir  Pfyffer. 


54a 


SWITZERLAND 


1833 

frustrated  for  a  long  time  to  come.  Zurich  made  one  more  effort 
in  its  favor,  and  urged  the  estabHshment  of  a  Swiss  constitutional 
council;  the  Swiss  National  Society  was  also  formed  from  within 
the  circle  of  the  already-existing  Rifle  Association,  for  the  purpose 
of  founding  a  united  national  state;  the  whole  was,  however, 
frustrated  by  the  obstinate  resistance  of  the  inner  cantons,  the  abso- 
lutely antagonistic  views  of  the  others,  and  above  all  by  the  serious 
conflicts  and  complications  with  other  countries  concerning  the 
matter  of  fugitives  such  as  Mazzini,  Snell,  Conseil,  and  Louis 
Napoleon. 

Meanwhile  some  compensation  was  afforded  for  the  frustra- 
tion of  the  Federal  revision  by  the  manifold  reorganization  in  the 
internal  conditions  of  individual  cantons — the  best  preparation  for 
the  future  progress  of  the  whole.  In  1834  Outer  Rhodes  of  Ap- 
penzell  accepted  the  very  constitutional  revision  which  had  been 
rejected  a  year  previously;  Schaffhausen  extended  the  franchise  in 
the  country  district;  subsequently  in  1837  and  1838  Zurich  swept 
away  the  last  barrier  between  town  and  country,  and  established 
absolutely  equal  popular  representation;  in  1836  the  principle  of 
perfect  equality  of  rights  and  the  separation  of  powers  was  realized 
by  the  revision  of  Glarus,  where  the  educational  system  was 
improved  in  most  exemplary  fashion.  Thurgau  abolished  the 
institution  of  a  separate  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  Encouraging 
reforms  also  met  with  success  in  other  spheres,  specially  in  the 
educational  system,  in  which  the  time  had  come  for  a  fundamental 
and  universal  reorganization.  All  ranks  were  affected  by  it,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  and  in  many  states  the  authorities,  people^ 
and  professors  alike  were  seized  with  a  veritable  enthusiasm  for 
the  improvement  of  the  methods  of  instruction. 

A  beginning  was  made  by  the  foundation  of  seminaries  for 
the  training  of  efficient  teachers.  In  Zurich  at  Kiissnach  in  1832, 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Thomas  Scherr,  in  Thurgau,  at  Kreuz- 
lingen  in  1833,  under  Wehrli,  in  Berne,  at  Miinchenbuchsee  In  1833, 
in  Soleure,  and  the  Vaud^  such  institutions  were  established.  The 
inspection  of  schools  was  made  obligatory,  scholastic  institutions 
were  carefully  classified  and  comprised  in  one  organic  whole ;  while 
new  subjects,  especially  the  exact  and  historical  sciences,  were  taken 
up,  new  methods  of  teaching  were  invented,  and  the  modern 
principles  of  education  of  PestalozzI  and  Fellenberg  were  intro- 
duced.      In  Zurich  the  Director  of  the  Seminary,  Dr.  Thomas 


INTERNAL    REORGANIZATION  643 

1833 

Scherr,  who  was  chosen  for  this  high  office  by  the  Liberal  leaders, 
Melchior  Hirzel  the  burgomaster  and  Dr.  Keller,  was  the  soul  of 
every  effort  connected  with  popular  education;  he  also  organized 
a  system  of  popular  schools,  which  became  the  model  for  other 
cantons,  and  likewise  introduced  the  modern  appliances  for 
teaching  in  popular  schools.  On  the  other  hand  the  noble-spirited 
Professor  Orelli  devoted  all  his  powers  to  the  erection  of  the  can- 
tonal school  and  the  formation  of  a  university  in  1832.  This 
example  was  followed  by  Berne,  where  a  cantonal  school  and  a 
university  were  established  in  1833. 

In  ecclesiastical  matters  the  Liberal  tendency  was  evinced 
in  the  Catholic  cantons.  In  Rapperswil  two  liberal-minded  eccle- 
siastics, Alois  Fuchs  and  Christopher  Fuchs,  labored  zealously,  and 
through  the  exertions  of  the  Pfyffer  family  Lucerne  became  the 
starting-point  of  a  Liberal-Catholic  propaganda.  A  conference  of 
delegates  from  Lucerne,  Berne,  Soleure,  Baselland,  St.  Gall,  Aargau, 
and  Thurgau  was  held  at  Baden  in  1834,  and  emphatically  declared 
itself  in  oppositi®n  to  the  claims  of  the  papal  court,  and  in  favor  of 
the  erection  of  a  Swiss  archbishopric,  and  passed  a  resolution  to  re- 
sist the  interference  of  the  nuncio  within  the  episcopal  jurisdiction, 
to  exercise  political  control  over  all  ecclesiastical  arrangements,  and 
in  general  to  place  restrictions  upon  the  spiritual  jurisdiction.  It  was 
next  desired  to  deprive  the  religious  houses  of  the  right  of  self- 
government,  to  place  them  under  episcopal  jurisdiction,  and  compel 
them  to  pay  taxes.  A  diminution  in  the  number  of  fete  days  was 
likewise  decided  upon,  and  a  desire  expressed  for  the  abolition  of  the 
nunciature.  The  papal  court  resisted  these  radical  proceedings,  and 
in  the  Bernese  Jura  a  tumult  was  raised  by  the  Ultramontanists  or 
advocates  of  the  papal  rights,  and  the  foreign  powers  also  inter- 
posed in  favor  of  the  hierarchy,  so  that  the  resolutions  could  not 
be  carried  into  effect,  although  the  movement  was  not  without 
traceable  result.  In  Aargau  the  religious  houses  were  placed  under 
state  supervision  and  in  St.  Gall  the  monastery  of  Pfaffers  was 
abolished. 

Traffic  was  also  included  in  the  universal  reform,  a  fine  net- 
work of  roads  being  constructed;  the  commercial  system  was  im- 
proved, and  the  whole  range  of  intellectual  and  material  culture 
entered  upon  a  stage  of  brilliant  development. 

United  as  the  Liberal  party  had  been  in  1829  and  1830  in 
favor  of  progress,  in  the  course  of  events  the  Radical  branch  broke 


544  SWITZERLAND 

1834-1836 

loose  from  them,  desiring  to  carry  innovations  much  further.  In 
opposition  to  both  stood  the  Conservative  or  reactionary  party, 
which,  though  defeated,  was  by  no  means  annihilated ;  on  the  con- 
trary, the  more  eagerly  the  Radicals  advanced,  the  more  impetu- 
ous, reckless,  and  violent  their  proceedings,  the  more  they  rode 
rough-shod  over  the  will  of  the  people,  so  much  the  more  ground 
did  the  Conservatives  gain  in  public  opinion.  By  these  proceedings 
of  the  extreme  factions  the  tension  was  brought  to  a  crisis,  while 
at  the  same  time  questions  of  an  ecclesiastical  nature  came  to  the 
fore  and  inflamed  men's  minds. 

The  Conservatives  regained  their  ascendency  first  in  Schwyz. 
In  1834  their  leader  and  chief,  Abyberg,  became  Landammann,  and 
in  1836  the  Jesuits  were  summoned  to  Schwyz  by  his  direction. 
The  Liberal  party  under  old  Landammann  Reding  opposed  this 
proceeding;  a  dispute  about  the  partition  and  appropriations  of  the 
estates  of  the  "  Allmend "  still  further  embittered  both  parties 
(the  "  Klauenmdnner"  and  " Hornmanner"),^  and  at  the  Lands- 
gemeinde  at  Rothenthurm  in  1838  a  riot  took  place,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  country  district  was  disarmed  by  order  of  Lucerne, 
the  capital.  But  the  matter  being  left  in  suspense,  the  predominant 
"  Horn  "  party  gained  the  day,  and  Abyberg  remained  Landam- 
mann. 

Far  more  attention  was  aroused  by  the  victory  of  reaction  in 
Zurich.  Here  Liberalism  seemed  to  have  taken  deeper  root  than 
anywhere  else;  yet  it  exhibited  distinctly  Radical  tendencies,  and 
filled  not  only  the  adherents  of  the  old  regime,  but  even  the  mod- 
erate party,  with  fears  which  were  only  too  well  grounded.  In  a 
very  short  space  of  time  an  entirely  new  and  exemplary  system  of 
education  had  been  brought  into  being;  the  criminal  jurisdiction, 
military  system,  and  divers  other  branches  of  the  administration 
completely  reorganized.  But  these  reforms  being  often  harshly 
and  inconsiderately  carried  out,  a  silent  discontent  began  gradually 
to  prevail  on  all  sides.  The  older  generation  followed  the  rapid 
advance  of  the  younger  most  unwillingly,  while  many  interests 
were  injured  and  many  wishes  left  unfulfilled.  As  early  as  1832  a 
reaction  was  threatened,    and    the   anniversary   of   the    "  Day  of 

•  The  party  of  the  "  Horn-men,"  so  called  because  they  drove  horned  cattle 
to  pasture,  consisted  of  the  rich  aristocracy;  while  the  "  Claw-men,"  who 
could  only  drive  small  cattle,  such  as  sheep  and  goats,  to  graze  on  the  "  All- 
mend,"  consisted  of  poor  country-folk. 


INTERNAL    REORGANIZATION  645 

1834-1836 

Uster  "  was  disturbed  by  exasperated  artisans  setting  fire  to  a  large 
factory  (Usterbrand).  The  greatest  offense  was  given  by  the  open 
endeavors  of  leading  statesmen  to  sever  the  school  from  the  in- 
fluence of  the  church  and  to  annihilate  orthodoxy.  Actual  insur- 
rections took  place  when  the  "  Lehrmeister "  (a  religious  educa- 
tional work),  the  catechism  and  the  testament  were  abolished  from 
the  day  schools  and  the  educational  appliances  prepared  by  Scherr 
in  accordance  with  modern  Liberal  ideas  were  introduced.  Many 
considered  the  old  faith  of  the  church  to  be  thereby  seriously 
threatened,  and  the  discontent  was  fanned  by  both  laity  and  clergy 
belonging  to  the  aristocratic  families  in  Zurich,  who  hoped  thus  to 
bring  the  Radical  government  to  the  ground. 

The  government,  however,  and  the  Board  of  Education  in 
particular,  consisting  of  intellectually  gifted  advocates  of  progress, 
such  as  Melchior  Hirzel,  Ludwig  Keller,  Professor  von  Orelli, 
Scherr,  the  director  of  the  seminary,  etc.,  rather  carelessly  neg- 
lected this  opposition;  and  the  chair  of  theology  at  the  university 
becoming  vacant,  they  hastily  seized  the  opportunity  to  introduce 
the  most  extreme  Liberal  tendencies  in  theology  into  the  highest 
institution  in  the  state.  They  therefore  summoned  Dr.  David 
Strauss,  who  in  his  "  Leben  Jcsu  "  had  applied  the  sharp  knife  of 
criticism  to  the  narratives  of  the  New  Testament,  had  called  many 
of  them  legends,  and  endeavored  to  divest  the  person  of  Christ  of 
its  supernatural  character.  This  abrupt  act  was  naturally  deemed 
a  fresh  outrage  upon  the  church  and  Christianity;  there  was  a 
simultaneous  outcry  throughout  the  land,  and  the  majority  of  the 
clergy  urged  resistance.  Addresses  and  petitions  poured  in  against 
Strauss,  against  the  Board  of  Education,  the  free-thinking  semi- 
nary, and  against  the  government ;  "  Committees  of  Faith  "  were 
formed  under  the  direction  of  Hiirlimann-Landis,  a  manufacturer 
of  Richterswil,  who  was  on  friendly  terms  with  the  aristocracy  of 
the  town,  and  open  rebellion  already  threatened.  The  government 
next  sought  to  allay  the  storm  by  pensioning  off  Strauss  before  he 
had  so  much  as  seen  Zurich. 

It  soon  became  evident,  however,  that  in  many  circles  there 
were  other  motives  in  close  connection  with  the  movement  against 
Strauss,  and  what  was  really  aimed  at  was  the  overthrow  of  the 
one-sided  Radical  system.  Hiirlimann-Landis,  Dr.  Rahn-Escher, 
and  Spondli  the  advocate,  the  leaders  of  the  "  Central  Committee," 
had  pressed  their  demands  still  further  touching  religious  instruc- 


5^e  SWITZERLAND 

1836-1840 

tion,  the  seminary  and  the  university,  and  their  desires  having  been 
only  partially  satisfied  by  the  government,  a  popular  agitation  was 
set  in  motion  on  September  2  at  the  popular  assembly  at  Kloten. 
The  government  still  failing  to  comply,  resistance  was  openly 
urged.  The  idle  rumor,  probably  willfully  spread,  that  the  govern- 
ment had  summoned  foreign  troops,  was  all  that  was  wanting  to 
heighten  the  excitement  to  the  utmost.  In  the  night  of  September 
5  to  6  Pastor  Bemhard  Hirzel,  a  learned  but  somewhat  impulsive 
and  ambitious  man,  had  the  alarm  bell  rung  at  Pf affikon ;  the  neigh- 
boring communes  immediately  followed  suit,  and  before  dawn 
from  the  whole  Oberland  numberless  armed  hosts  poured  upon  the 
town,  while  at  the  same  time  the  storm  broke  out  in  other  parts  of 
the  canton.  This  blow  proved  decisive;  a  small  skirmish  which 
took  place  on  the  cathedral  square  between  the  Landsturm  and  the 
troops  of  the  government  ended,  indeed,  in  favor  of  the  latter,  but 
the  government,  timid  and  divided,  resigned,  and  made  room  for 
a  new  Conservative  party,  formed  of  youthful  members  of  the 
aristocracy,  with  Dr.  Bluntschli  at  their  head ;  a  new,  and,  as  it  was 
popularly  styled,  "  faithful "  Board  of  Education  was  appointed, 
Scherr  was  forced  to  leave  the  seminary,  and  the  Liberals  had  to 
bear  the  consequences  of  their  indiscreet  and  premature  proceed- 
ings for  many  a  year.  Zurich  withdrew  from  the  League  of  the 
Seven  Cantons  (Siebnerkonkordat) . 

These  proceedings  on  the  part  of  Zurich,  the  place  which  had 
hitherto  led  the  van  in  the  Liberal  movement,  gave  rise  to  a  suc- 
cession of  tumults,  particularly  as  Zurich  was  at  that  time  the 
capital.  The  first  symptoms  appeared  in  Valais.  The  Diet  had 
previously  expressly  established  the  unity  of  this  canton  under  a 
Liberal  constitution:  Upper  Valais,  however,  offered  resistance, 
and  accomplished  a  fresh  separation.  The  Diet  remaining  inactive, 
war  broke  out.  In  March,  1840,  the  troops  of  Lower  Valais  sub- 
dued Upper  Valais,  dispersed  the  old  government,  and  forced  the 
state  to  acknowledge  the  Liberal  constitution.  Struggles  in  Ticino 
and  Soleure  led  to  similar  victories  on  the  side  of  the  Liberals.  In 
May,  1839,  the  Conservatives  in  Ticino  regained  the  upper  hand, 
and  drove  out  the  Radicals.  The  latter  (Franscini,  Luvini), 
strong  in  numbers  in  Lugano  and  Mendrisio,  the  southern  portions 
of  the  canton,  made  their  preparations,  and  the  government  show- 
ing unfair  partiality,  they  marched  with  an  armed  force  upon 
Bellinzona  and  Locarno,  on  December  6,  and  set  up  a  distinctly 


INTERNAL     REORGANIZATION  547 

1840-1841 

Liberal  government.  In  Soleure,  as  in  Zurich,  the  Conservatives 
formed  committees  on  the  occasion  of  the  revision,  arranged  popu- 
lar assemblies  in  1840  in  Mumliswil  and  Mariastein,  and  endeav- 
ored to  overturn  the  government.  The  latter,  however,  took  most 
energetic  steps,  frustrated  a  rising,  and  enforced  a  Liberal  consti- 
tution. 

So  much  the  greater,  therefore,  was  the  triumph  of  the  victori- 
ous reaction  in  Lucerne.  Two  men  here  took  the  lead  as  champions 
of  the  Ultramontanists :  Joseph  Leu  of  Ebersol,  a  councilor,  a  well- 
to-do  farmer,  but  illiterate  and  a  strong  partisan  of  the  church,  and 
Konstantin  Siegwart-Muller,  the  chancellor  (Staatsschreiber) ,  who 
had  formerly  been  a  most  zealous  Radical  in  his  political  and 
religious  views,  but  having  taken  fright  at  the  triumph  of  the 
"  faithful  "  in  Zurich,  changed  his  colors :  with  them  was  associated 
Bernhard  Meyer,  the  Staatsschreiber.  They  conceived  the  prevail- 
ing system  to  be  one  which  would  undermine  the  Catholic  faith, 
and  demanded  the  repeal  of  the  resolutions  of  Baden,  the  recall  of 
the  Jesuits,  and  a  new  democratic  constitution.  Rejected  at  first 
in  November,  1839,  the  Conservatives  here,  too,  formed  a  com- 
mittee known  as  the  Committee  of  Russwil,  and  when,  in  January, 
votes  were  taken  upon  constitutional  revision  they  were  to  a  large 
extent  successful;  a  new  constitution  favorable  to  the  clergy  was 
accepted,  by  which  means  Lucerne  cut  itself  adrift  both  from 
Baden  and  from  the  League  of  the  Seven  Cantons,  in  order  to 
accept  the  dominion  of  a  strictly  ecclesiastical  spirit. 

After  the  riots  in  Zurich  {"  Zuriputsch")  the  reactionary 
party  in  Aargau  began  to  bestir  itself.  The  revision  of  the  consti- 
tution coming  under  discussion,  the  Conservatives  established  the 
Committee  of  Buntzen,  and  in  the  popular  assemblies  of  1840  all 
sorts  of  ecclesiastical  and  democratic  wishes  were  brought  forward. 
The  government  party,  however,  succeeded  in  effecting  the  adop- 
tion of  a  Liberal  constitution  on  January  5,  1841.  The  Committee 
of  Buntzen  protested,  whereupon  the  government  proceeded  to  ar- 
rest some  of  them.  This  aroused  an  uproar  in  the  Free  Bailiwick; 
at  the  instigation  of  the  monasteries,  notably  Muri,  the  Landsturm 
broke  out,  but  was  defeated  on  January  11  by  the  troops  of  the 
government.  The  Free  Bailiwick  was  occupied.  The  energetic 
government  then  took  a  step  which  must  have  been  regarded  as  a 
throwing  down  of  the  gauntlet  to  all  Swiss  Conservatives,  for,  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  passionately  excited  director  of  the  seminary. 


548  SWITZERLAND 

1841-1843 

Augustin  Keller,  the  fatal  resolution  was  adopted  of  the  dissolution 
of  the  religious  houses.  A  cry  of  indignation  at  this  act  of  vio- 
lence rang  through  the  ranks  of  the  Conservatives  in  Switzerland. 
The  advocates  of  the  monastic  system  protested,  and  appealed  to 
the  article  concerning  religious  houses  in  the  Federal  Pact.  The 
Diet,  too,  in  April  and  July,  denounced  the  decision  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Aargau  as  incompatible  with  the  Federal  constitution. 
Thus  Aargau  was  forced  to  partially  yield,  and  to  reestablish  some 
of  the  religious  houses. 

In  the  meantime  a  strong  agitation  was  spreading  throughout 
Switzerland.  Demonstrations  in  favor  of  the  government  of 
Aargau  were  organized  in  all  parts  by  the  Radicals.  In  Zurich  the 
situation  was  peculiarly  altered.  The  Radical  leaders  and  newspa- 
pers and  the  Liberal  professors  opposed  the  reaction  with  all  their 
might,  and  succeeded  in  reawakening  the  memory  of  the  great  day 
of  Uster.  In  contrast  to  the  "  September  government,"  a  popular 
assembly  at  Schwamendingen,  at  which  20,000  men  took  part, 
voted  for  the  hearty  support  of  the  government  of  Aargau 
(August,  1 841)  ;  other  cantons  also  followed  suit,  and  the  canton 
of  Aargau  having  reinstated  part  of  the  religious  houses,  the  ma- 
jority of  the  states  in  August,  1843,  declared  themselves  satisfied. 
But  the  cantons  of  Lucerne,  Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Zug,  Fri- 
bourg,  and  Valais,  which  were  greatly  under  the  influence  of  the 
clergy,  entered  a  protest,  held  a  special  conference  in  1843,  and 
"  for  the  defense  of  the  outraged  rights  of  Catholic  Switzerland  " 
concluded  a  Sonderhund,  or  Separate  League,  the  second  since 
1832 :  it  was  almost  entirely  composed  of  the  very  same  states 
which  had  concluded  the  Borromean  League  of  former  days.  The 
remaining  cantons  made  an  attempt  at  intimidation  by  threatening 
a  formal  separation.  Men's  minds  were  not  as  yet,  however,  so  far 
inflamed  as  not  to  shrink  mutually  from  civil  war,  had  not  a  second 
urgent  matter  been  added  to  the  monastic  question,  which  drove  the 
factions  to  war — this  was  the  question  of  the  Jesuits. 

The  Jesuits  everywhere  strenuously  opposed  the  Liberal  pol- 
icy, and  it  was  to  their  influence  that  the  Liberals  ascribed  the  fact 
that  in  one  canton,  viz.,  Valais,  which  had  at  first  held  a  little  aloof, 
a  sanguinary  strife  afterward  ensued,  and  finally  it  definitely  joined 
the  Sonderhund.  The  inhabitants  of  Upper  Valais  yearned  for 
satisfaction  for  the  blow  dealt  them  in  1840.  Two  associations 
confronted  one  another,  the  so-called    "  Young    Switzerland  "  or 


INTERNAL     REORGANIZATION  54-9 

1844-1845 

Liberals,  and  "  Old  Switzerland  "  or  Conservatives,  and  did  their 
utmost  to  exasperate  one  another.  Finally  in  May,  1844,  through 
the  fault  of  Lucerne,  the  capital,  and  its  representative,  Bernhard 
Meyer,  who  favored  the  cause  of  Upper  Valais,  a  pitched  battle 
ensued  at  Trientbach,  in  which  the  Liberals  were  defeated  with 
much  slaughter,  and  a  military  occupation  was  established  in  Lower 
Valais. 

Soon  afterward  the  prolonged  efforts  of  Leu's  party  to  obtain 
the  recall  of  the  Jesuits  were  at  last  successful.  The  Liberals  who 
endeavored  to  avert  this  step  were  suppressed.  The  tide  having 
now  turned  so  completely  in  favor  of  Ultramontanism  and  reaction, 
the  Swiss  Liberal  party  rose  to  the  occasion  with  energy.  Fellen- 
berg  demanded  that  measures  should  be  taken  to  emancipate  Valais 
from  the  Jesuits,  and  Augustin  Keller  at  the  Diet  painted  in  glow- 
ing colors  the  dangerous  nature  of  that  order,  whose  principles  and 
influence  threatened  to  stifle  all  free  republican  feeling. 

The  Diet,  however,  would  venture  no  step  at  this  juncture,  and 
on  October  24,  1844,  the  Jesuits  were  summoned  to  undertake  the 
management  of  higher  education  in  Zurich.  Exasperated  beyond 
endurance,  the  Liberals  of  Lucerne  conceived  the  unfortunate  idea 
of  pushing  their  cause  by  force  of  arms,  in  conjunction  with  those 
of  like  views  in  the  neighboring  cantons.  A  first  attempt  made  on 
December  8,  1844,  by  insurrectionary  troops  from  Aargau  and 
Lucerne,  to  take  the  city  by  surprise  and  drive  out  the  Jesuits, 
failed.  Numerous  popular  assemblies,  specially  those  of  the  can- 
tons of  Berne  and  Zurich,  next  proffered  a  unanimous  request  to 
the  Diet  that  the  Jesuits  might  be  expelled  and  Federal  revision 
once  more  taken  in  hand.  A  profound  impression  was  made  by  a 
proclamation  issued  January  26,  1845,  by  an  assembly  of  20,000 
men  at  Unterstrass,  near  Zurich.  The  existing  government  in  the 
Vaud  was  overturned  by  the  Landsturm,  and  its  place  taken  by 
Radicals.  Thereupon  Berne,  Zurich,  the  Vaud,  and  Aargau  unani- 
mously voted  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  but  it  was  still 
opposed  by  the  majority  of  the  states. 

In  Lucerne,  however,  the  victorious  Ultramontanists  exer- 
cised an  absolute  reign  of  terror.  Many  of  their  opponents  were 
forced  to  fly  for  refuge  to  the  surrounding  cantons.  Every  in- 
junction of  the  Diet  recommending  moderation  proving  futile, 
revolutionary  troops  once  more  assembled,  particularly  from  the 
cantons  of  Aargau,  Baselland,  Soleure,  and  Berne,  under  the  con- 


650 


SWITZERLAND 


1845-1846 

duct  of  Colonels  Ochsenbein  of  Nidau  and  Rothpletz  of  Aarau,  in 
order  to  take  possession  of  the  town  by  the  help  of  the  fugitives 
from  Lucerne;  unity  and  discipline  were,  however,  wanting,  and 
time  was  wasted,  so  that  the  second  insurrectionary  expedition 
failed  like  the  first,  March  31,  1845.  Lucerne,  on  the  other  hand, 
took  the  opportunity  to  proceed  to  still  greater  extremities.  Dr. 
Steiger,  the  chief  of  the  Liberals,  was  condemned  to  death,  but 
succeeded  in  escaping  to  Zurich,  and  a  considerable  number  were 
forced  to  undergo  penal  servitude.  Subsequently,  on  July  20, 
1845,  Joseph  Leu  was  treacherously  shot  by  a  depraved  wretch, 
who  imagined  himself  to  be  thus  rendering  a  service  to  the  Lib- 
erals; this  was  the  occasion  of  fresh  executions,  and  hundreds  of 
persons  were  imprisoned,  among  them  Dr.  Kasimir  Pfyffer.  In 
consequence  of  the  victory  over  the  insurrectionary  troops,  the 
other  cantons  which  were  in  alliance  with  Lucerne  were  also  much 
emboldened.  In  the  summer  of  1845  the  Sonderbund  having  as- 
sumed a  more  definite  form,  the  allies  resolved  to  take  unanimous 
measures  against  all  attacks  upon  their  sovereign  and  territorial 
rights,  and  established  a  council  of  war.  This  step  was  brought 
about  by  Siegwart-Miiller,  and  was  unquestionably  a  gross  viola- 
tion of  the  Confederation. 

During  the  triumph  of  reaction,  the  strength  of  the  Liberal 
cause  was  silently  increasing.  The  Liberal  party  in  Zurich  had 
completely  regained  their  ascendency,  the  leaders  of  the  "  Septem- 
ber system  "  (notably  Bluntschli)  had  been  forced  to  resign,  and 
Dr.  Furrer,  a  strong  advocate  of  reform,  was  now  at  the  head  of 
the  state.  In  Berne,  where  many  Radicals  had  been  elected  in  the 
great  council,  the  government  could  no  longer  resist  the  demands 
of  the  people  for  the  extension  of  the  franchise  and  increase  of  their 
rights,  and  in  July,  1846,  a  new  constitution  was  granted.  At  the 
head  of  the  Liberal  government,  side  by  side  with  Ochsenbein,  the 
insurrectionary  leader,  stood  Niggeler  and  Stampfii.  Berne  and 
Zurich  were  now  become  the  mainstay  of  the  Liberals  in  Switzer- 
land. 

In  the  summer  of  1846,  however,  when  the  attitude  of  the 
Sonderbund  was  discussed  at  the  Diet,  the  votes  of  two  states  were 
wanting  to  procure  a  majority  against  that  league  and  against  the 
Jesuits,  and  it  was  not  until  the  Radical  party  had  prevailed  in 
Geneva  through  the  efforts  of  James  Fazy,  and  until  Baumgartner, 
who  since  1839  had  attached  himself  to  the  Conservatives,  had 


INTERNAL     REORGANIZATION  651 

1846-1847 

been  removed  from  St.  Gall  and  a  Liberal  majority  formed  in  that 
government,  and  thus  those  two  states  won  over  to  the  progressive 
party,  that  the  latter  lawfully  obtained  the  ascendency. 

At  the  Diet  held  at  Berne  on  July  5,  1847,  President  Ochsen- 
bein,  the  leader  of  the  insurrectionary  troops,  once  again  spoke  with 
great  eloquence  upon  the  question  of  progress  versus  stability, 
whereupon  the  Diet  decreed  the  dissolution  of  the  Sonderhund. 
This  decision  was  received  with  great  rejoicing  by  the  crowds  sur- 
rounding the  building  where  the  Diet  was  assembled,  and  also  by 
all  the  Liberals  throughout  Switzerland.  National  life  had  gained 
a  great  accession  of  strength  even  in  the  Diet,  which  next  sum- 
moned up  courage  to  issue  a  decree  against  the  Jesuits,  and  ap- 
pointed a  commission  to  draw  up  a  scheme  of  Federal  revision 
based  upon  the  former  decree  of  July,  1832. 

The  Sonderhund,  however,  still  remained  defiant,  and,  relying 
upon  the  sympathy  of  foreign  powers,  with  whom  it  had  entered 
into  negotiations,  prepared  for  war.  After  futile  attempts  at  a 
peaceable  accommodation,  the  Diet  decided  to  put  their  decree  into 
execution  by  force  of  arms,  and  after  adjourning  for  some  time  in 
order  to  complete  their  instructions,  they  assembled  for  a  final  gen- 
eral session  on  October  18  amid  the  clash  of  arms.  Even  yet  the 
delegates  of  the  Sonderhund  stubbornly  persisted  in  their  demands 
for  the  repeal  of  the  decrees  already  issued,  and  the  reestablishment 
of  the  religious  houses,  laying  great  stress  upon  what  they  consid- 
ered their  lawful  rights  and  their  just  cause,  and  finally  on  October 
29  they  left  the  hall  in  violent  excitement,  led  by  Bernhard  Meyer. 
The  Diet  completed  the  preparations  already  commenced,  and 
chose  Heinrich  Dufour  of  Geneva  for  their  general.  They  urged 
upon  the  Confederation  the  necessity  of  unity  in  the  struggle 
against  that  faction  which  "had  already  in  181 3  opened  the  doors 
to  foreign  armies,  had  refused  to  guarantee  the  Liberal  constitu- 
tions of  1831,  had  been  indefatigable  in  their  machinations  in  the 
cause  of  reaction,  stirred  up  revolts  in  the  Jura  and  other  parts  of 
Switzerland,  raised  an  Ultramontane  sedition  in  Aargau,  and  re- 
called the  Jesuits  to  Valais,  Fribourg,  Schwyz,  and  Lucerne;  and 
by  whose  triumph  the  country  would  gradually  lose  all  those  insti- 
tutions upon  which  depended  its  true  freedom,  its  intellectual  devel- 
opment, its  i>ower,  and  its  honor." 

The  adherents  of  the  Sonderhund  placed  their  forces  under 
the  command  of  a  Grison,  General  von  Salis-Soglio,  a  man  whose 


553  SWITZERLAND 

1847 

gifts  were  far  inferior  to  those  of  General  Dufour,  a  soldier  trained 
in  the  school  of  the  first  Napoleon.  The  Liberals  were  also 
stronger  in  numbers  than  the  Leaguers,*  and  the  latter  were  at 
variance  among  themselves.  Dufour,  with  admirable  speed  and 
discretion,  immediately  reduced  Fribourg  by  a  double  attack,  and 
on  November  14  that  state  announced  its  secession  from  the  sep- 
arate league.  He  next  ordered  an  attack  upon  Lucerne.  The 
Leaguers  had  already  achieved  some  small  successes  in  Ticino  and 
the  Free  Bailiwick.  Dufour  advanced  swiftly  upon  Aargau  in 
order  to  give  battle  to  the  main  army  of  the  Sonderhund,  then  sta- 
tioned near  Gislikon  and  the  Rooter  Berg.  Zug,  being  now  com- 
pletely surrounded,  capitulated  on  November  21.  On  the  23d  the 
main  attack  took  place.  The  Leaguers  had  an  excellent  and  almost 
impregnable  position.  Honau  was  taken  after  a  violent  struggle. 
At  Gislikon  the  first  attack  proved  unsuccessful;  certain  battalions 
were  forced  to  give  way,  and  it  was  only  by  the  courageous  per- 
sonal interposition  and  advance  of  Colonels  Egloff  and  Ziegler 
that  the  enemy  was  repulsed  from  the  western  side  of  the  Rooter 
Berg.  The  Leagfuers  were  simultaneously  driven  back  from  the 
eastern  side  at  Meyerskappel  after  a  short  struggle,  the  issue  of 
which  was  at  first  doubtful.  Lucerne  was  besieged  on  all  sides. 
The  leaders  of  the  Sonderhund  fled,  the  town  capitulated,  and  on 
November  24  the  main  body  of  the  Federal  army  entered.  The 
remaining  cantons  yielded  and  complied  with  the  demands  of  the 
victors,  Valais  being  the  last  to  do  so.  The  Jesuits  were  expelled, 
Liberal  governments  established,  and  the  constitutions  of  the 
various  cantons  altered  accordingly.  Thus  that  for  which  men  had 
been  striving  in  the  cantons  ever  since  1830  was  now  first  fully 
attained. 

After  the  defeat  of  the  Sonderhund  and  the  revolution  in  the 
inner  cantons,  the  one  hindrance  in  the  way  of  the  long-desired 
Federal  revision  lay  in  the  unfavorable  disposition  of  the  majority 
of  the  foreign  powers,  without  whose  consent  the  Federal  Pact 
of  181 5  could  hardly  be  altered.  Austria  and  France  had  already 
attempted  to  interpose  in  favor  of  the  Leaguers  during  the  war  of 
the  Sonderhund,  and  on  the  part  of  England  alone  had  any  support 
been  bestowed  upon  the  Liberals;  a  menacing  note  received  from 

*Dufour's  army  numbered  (without  the  Landsturtn)  about  98,000  men, 
that  of  the  Leaguers  37,000,  but  the  latter  were  joined  by  the  Landsturtn  to  the 
number  of  47,000  men. 


INTERNAL     REORGANIZATION  653 

1848 

the  powers  was  delayed  by  England  (Palmerston)  until  the  issue 
had  been  decided  against  the  Sonderbund.  Even  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  in  January,  1848,  France,  Prussia,  and  Austria  interposed 
as  advocates  of  the  cantonal  sovereignty  in  favor  of  the  defeated 
states. 

Now,  however,  it  was  not  only  too  late,  but  also  the  needful 
vigor  was  wanting  to  give  force  to  their  advocacy,  for  in  the 
course  of  the  very  next  month  of  February  the  revolution  ensued 
in  Paris,  which  spread  like  wild-fire  to  the  surrounding  countries, 
overturned  existing  governments,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  mod- 
ern political  conditions.  While  this  movement  frustrated  the 
intervention  of  the  foreigner,  it  essentially  assisted  the  already 
commenced  work  of  the  reformation  of  the  Swiss  Federation,  and 
gave  a  powerful  impulse  to  the  Liberal  cause,  particularly  in 
Neuchatel,  where  the  Republicans,  encouraged  by  the  events  in 
Paris,  possessed  themselves  on  March  i  of  the  capital  and  the 
castle,  and  introduced  a  new  and  Republican  constitution;  all  of 
which  Prussia  was  powerless  to  prevent. 

The  commission  appointed  for  Federal  revision  now  labored 
zealously  at  the  scheme.  No  one  any  longer  doubted  that  the 
Swiss  people,  as  such,  must  be  duly  represented  in  the  Confedera- 
tion, as  had  for  years  past  been  required  and  been  manifestly  need- 
ful. But  opinions  were  divided  as  to  the  desirability  of  uniform 
national  representation,  and  as  to  how  far  centralization  should  be 
put  in  practice.  Finally  a  compromise  was  agreed  upon  midway 
between  the  national  and  cantonal  principles,  or  between  the  two 
systems  of  unity  and  federation,  such  as  had  already  been  ex- 
pressed in  the  constitution  of  "  Mediation  " ;  and  for  this  purpose 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America,  with  its  system 
of  two  chambers,  was  taken  as  a  model,  as  had  already  been  recom- 
mended by  Dr.  Troxler  and  others  between  1830  and  1840,  and 
was  now  advocated  by  James  Fazy  and  Munzinger  of  Soleure. 

The  work  of  the  commission  was  brought  to  a  close  in  April 
in  accordance  with  these  leading  points  of  view.  The  following 
were  the  chief  stipulations :  Cantonal  sovereignty  was  guaranteed, 
but  restricted  by  a  strong  Federal  authority.  The  Federation  no 
longer  merely  aimed  at  maintaining  the  independence  of  their 
country  toward  the  outer  world,  and  preserving  peace  and  order  in 
the  interior,  but  also  endeavored  to  support  the  liberties  and  rights 
of  the  Confederates,  and  to  further  their  common  welfare.     Ac- 


554j  SWITZERLAND 

1848 

cordingly,  the  Federation  alone  has  the  right  to  declare  war  and 
make  peace,  to  conclude  alliances  and  political  treaties,  especially 
those  relating  to  customs  and  commerce,  with  other  countries. 
Particular  alliances  and  treaties  of  a  political  nature  between  the 
several  cantons  are  prohibited;  official  intercourse  between  the 
cantons  and  foreign  countries  is  also  placed  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Federation,  and  in  the  case  of  violent  disturbances  in  the 
cantons  the  Federation  exercises  the  right  of  intervention.  The 
following  are  guaranteed  as  inalienable  rights  of  the  Swiss  people : 
the  equality  of  all  men  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  freedom  of  domicile, 
liberty  of  the  press,  religious  liberty,  and  the  rights  of  association 
and  of  petition.  Federal  affairs  further  include  the  customs,  coin- 
age, and  postal  system,  the  settlement  of  weights  and  measures,  and 
the  disposal  of  the  Federal  army,  formed  out  of  contingents  from 
the  cantons.  Finally,  the  Federation  also  received  the  right  to 
erect  a  university  and  a  polytechnic,  and  in  general  to  establish 
or  cause  to  be  established  any  public  works  in  the  interest  of  the 
Confederation,  or  of  the  greater  part  of  it.  Thus  a  formidable 
barrier  was  set  up  against  all  efforts  at  separation  and  individual- 
ism, and  the  foundation  laid  of  a  necessary  unification  of  the 
powers. 

The  executive  of  the  Federal  authority  was  so  organized  that 
the  legislative  power  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  two  councils :  the 
National  Council  (Nationalrat)  as  representing  the  Swiss  people, 
and  the  Council  of  the  States  (Stdnderat)  as  representing  the  can- 
tons. In  the  former  each  representative  is  chosen  by  20,000  Swiss 
citizens,  in  the  latter  each  canton  elects  two  representatives,  every 
half-canton  electing  one.  The  decisions  of  both  councils  are  de- 
termined by  the  majority  of  votes,  but  the  agreement  of  the  two 
councils  is  requisite  to  render  their  decisions  valid.  The  highest 
executive  and  directing  authority  is  that  of  the  Federal  Council, 
consisting  of  seven  members  elected  by  the  Federal  Assembly,® 
presided  over  by  the  President  of  the  Confederation.  For  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  law,  so  far  as  it  falls  within  the  province  of 
the  Confederation,  a  Federal  tribunal  was  established.  Thus  the 
people  were  now  represented  in  the  Confederation,  and  had  at  the 
same  time  acquired  their  essential  rights,  assured  by  the  Federation : 
the  foundation  was  laid  of  a  universal  Swiss  citizenship,  though 
still  hampered  by  many  limitations.  The  guarantee  of  free  move- 
ment in  the  interior  was  of  the  greatest  importance  for  the  advance- 
•  The  National  Council  and  the  Council  of  the  States  combined. 


INTERNAL     RE  O  RG  A  N-IZ  ATION  666 

1848 

ment  of  industry  and  manufactures,  giving  facilities  for  settlement, 
greater  freedom  of  buying  and  selling,  the  abolition  of  inland  cus- 
toms, and  free  entry,  exit,  and  transit  from  one  canton  to  another, 
though  still  encumbered  by  slight  restrictions. 

It  is  true  that  when  the  time  came  for  this  Federal' constitu- 
tion to  be  accepted,  many  were  dissatisfied  with  what  had  been 
attained.  While  the  inner  cantons  still  cherished  the  idea  of  the 
old  Confederation,  the  Radicals  wanted  absolutely  uniform  national 
representation,  and  a  greater  advance  in  the  direction  of  centraliza- 
tion. They  were  of  opinion  that  the  Helvetic  united  government, 
universally  detested  as  it  had  been  under  the  circumstances  then 
prevailing,  had  yet  projected  and  initiated  much  that  was  good,  and 
that  in  order  to  inculcate  true  Federal  principles,  not  only  must  the 
restrictions  yet  remaining  upon  free  intercourse  and  popular  rights 
be  removed,  but  also  such  matters  as  the  educational,  legal,  and 
military  systems  must  be  completely  in  the  hands  of  the  Federa- 
tion. In  general,  however,  the  idea  prevailed  that  it  was  better  not 
to  go  too  far,  lest  through  any  rashness  everything  should  once 
more  be  called  in  question.  Even  the  advocates  of  uniformity  con- 
soled themselves  by  the  consideration  of  what  had  been  already 
attained,  which  they  regarded  as  a  transition  stage  leading  to 
further  progress. 

Therefore,  on  September  12,  1848,  the  constitution  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  majority  of  the  cantons  and  of  the  voters  from 
among  the  people.®  The  firing  of  cannon  proclaimed  the  splendid 
result,  and  beacon  fires  blazed  upon  the  mountains.  The  Swiss 
people  entered  upon  an  entirely  new  epoch,  the  most  important 
since  the  founding  of  the  Confederation.  The  league,  formerly  so 
lax,  instituted  in  times  of  danger  for  purposes  of  defense,  and 
chiefly  useful  in  time  of  war,  had  forever  given  place  to  a  perma- 
nent political  system  organized  upon  modem  principles,  having  for 
its  aim  the  advance  of  civilization  in  every  respect,  its  strength  and 
value  depending  solely  upon  the  education  and  capacity  for  work 
of  its  people  and  upon  the  cultivation  of  humanity. 

*  Fifteen  and  one-half  cantons  accepted,  six  and  one-half  rejected  it  (includ- 
ing those  of  the  Sonderhund,  with  the  exception  of  Fribourg).  The  people  took 
a  very  feeble  part  in  the  voting,  almost  half  absenting  themselves.  The  result 
was  169,743  ayes  to  71,899  noes. 


Chapter    XII 

THE   CONSOLIDATION   OF   THE   FEDERAL    STATES 

1 848-1 874 

EUROPE  looked  on  in  wonderment  at  this  transformation. 
Switzerland  had  remained  exempt  from  the  cruel  agita- 
tions and  terrible  convulsions  of  other  states,  and,  thanks 
to  Dufour's  judicious  conduct  in  the  war  and  the  dissolution  of  the 
Sonderbund,  had  passed  the  crisis  speedily  and  safely,  and  without, 
or  rather  notwithstanding-,  foreign  interference,  had  procured  for 
herself  a  popular  constitution.  Equally  speedily  and  safely  there 
now  followed  the  introduction  of  the  new  constitution.  On  Sep- 
tember 22,  1848,  the  Diet  finally  resigned,  giving  place  to  the  new 
Federal  Assembly.  The  latter  then  nominated  Berne,  the  media- 
tor between  French  and  German  Switzerland,  to  be  the  permanent 
Federal  capital.  The  highest  Federal  offices  were  filled  entirely 
by  men  who  had  renderd  good  service  in  the  dissolution  of  the 
Sonderbund  and  the  establishment  of  the  constitution;  Jonas 
Furrer  of  Winterthur  was  elected  President  of  the  Confederation, 
and  his  portrait  even  yet  preserves  in  many  a  home  the  memory  of 
the  joyful  transformation  of  the  fatherland;  while  the  Federal 
councilors  were  Druey  of  the  Vaud,  Munzinger  of  Soleure,  Fran- 
scini  of  Ticino,  Ochsenbein  of  Berne,  Frei-Herose  of  Aargau,  and 
Naff  of  St.  Gall. 

The  next  question  was  to  find  a  suitable  form  by  which  to 
enforce  the  details  of  the  Federal  constitution,  and  specially  those 
branches  of  the  administration  which  had  come  into  the  hands  of 
the  Confederation.  The  establishment  of  a  uniform  postal  system 
was  a  very  simple  matter;  Switzerland  was  divided  into  postal 
districts,  and  taxes  and  tariffs  were  fixed  in  due  proportion. 
**  Brightly  colored  stamps  began  to  adorn  the  letters,  while  along 
all  the  high  roads  and  over  the  cold  heights  of  the  Alpine  passes 
rolled  the  large  and  roomy  postal  vans  of  the  Confederation."  The 
newly  established  telegraph  system  was  next  transferred  to  the 
Confederation  in  185 1,  and  electric  wires  passed  from  Berne 
throughout  the  whole  of  Switzerland. 

656 


THE    FEDERAL     STATES  557 

1848-1874 

Some  disputes  with  regard  to  the  railway  system  were  termi- 
nated in  1852  by  a  decision  in  favor  of  leaving  the  construction  of 
railways  in  private  hands,  and  it  was  not  until  1873  that  the 
Confederation  assumed  the  licensing  and  control  of  the  rail- 
ways. 

The  abolition  of  all  restrictions  upon  commerce  in  the  interior 
proceeded  with  some  rapidity,  and  in  some  cantons  there  only 
remained  the  so-called  Ohmgelder,  duties  paid  upon  the  importa- 
tion of  wine,  brandy,  etc. 

The  establishment  of  a  uniform  system  of  coinage  presented 
greater  difficulties.  All  the  various  sorts  of  Swiss  money,  the 
doublon,  the  hock,  the  hatz,  the  schilling,  the  angster,  etc.,  had  to 
be  called  in  and  carefully  exchanged;  and  after  long  discussion 
it  was  decided  that  the  new  Swiss  coinage  should  follow  the  French 
decimal  system,  which  predominated  in  the  commercial  world ;  and 
thenceforth  all  Swiss  money,  copper,  nickel,  and  silver,  bore  the 
Swiss  arms  with  a  wreath  of  oak  leaves,  or  Helvetia  enthroned, 
pointing  to  the  mountains:  gold  coinage  there  was  none,  it  being 
only  introduced  into  Switzerland  quite  lately. 

With  the  framing  of  the  article  about  the  rights  of  domicile 
it  became  necessary  to  establish  some  legal  protection  for  mixed 
marriages,  hitherto  interdicted.  It  was  now  thought  to  be  a  violent 
infringement  of  the  liberty  of  mankind  that  religious  creed  should 
remain  any  hindrance  to  marriage.  A  Radical  party  therefore 
arose  among  the  Federal  authorities,  which  insisted  upon  the  aboli- 
tion of  this  restriction,  and  passing  beyond  the  letter  of  the  Federal 
Constitution,  obtained  in  1850  a  Federal  law  for  the  protection  of 
mixed  marriages. 

The  article  as  to  a  Federal  educational  institution  was  at 
length  carried  into  at  least  partial  execution.  It  is  true  that  the 
project  of  a  Federal  university  was  rejected  by  the  Council  of 
States,  but  on  the  other  hand  the  proposition  of  a  Federal  poly- 
technic was  accepted  by  the  majority.  Zurich  was  fixed  upon  as 
its  seat,  for  this  city  not  having  been  made  the  seat  of  the  Federal 
Government,  it  was  thought  to  make  amends  by  giving  it  the  Fed- 
eral academy.  The  institution  was  opened  in  1855,  and  in  1864 
took  possession  of  the  spacious  edifice  built  by  Zurich  in  the  style 
of  the  Acropolis. 

Such  satisfactory  developments  gained  more  and  more  friends 
to  the  new  order  of  things ;  the  evil  consequences  predicted  by  the 


558 


SWITZERLAND 


1848-1874 

opposition  party  did  not  ensue,  and  many  opponents  were  them- 
selves forced  to  acknowledge  the  advantages  of  greater  unity  and 
freer  motion.  No  sort  of  attempt  was  made  to  return  to  the  old 
standpoint  previous  to  1848;  on  the  contrary,  the  former  opponents 
of  Federal  reform,  as  "  Conservatives  "  or  "  Moderates,"  clung 
with  all  their  might  to  the  new  constitution  for  protection  against 
further  innovations.  The  Radicals,  on  the  other  hand,  to  whom 
the  new  Confederation  actually  owed  its  existence,  soon  made  a 
further  forward  movement,  partly  in  order  to  obtain  demands 
which  had  been  put  forward  earlier  but  suppressed,  and  partly  to 
open  the  way  for  further  progress. 

The  Conservative  governments  of  other  countries  resented  the 
rapid  and  fundamental  changes  in  Switzerland;  and  when,  during 
the  revolutionary  storms  in  the  neighboring  countries  in  1848  and 
1849,  fugitives  once  more  involved  Switzerland  in  difficulties,  they 
made  their  irritation  distinctly  felt.  Switzerland,  however,  pre- 
served her  neutrality  as  far  as  possible,  and  about  1855  it  seemed 
as  though  the  storm-clouds  had  quite  passed  away,  when  suddenly 
a  formidable  embarrassment  was  presented  by  the  affair  of 
Neuchatel,  such  as  had  not  been  experienced  since  the  wars  of 
liberty  and  the  invasion  of  the  French.  This  territory,  which  had 
formerly  (from  1406)  been  an  allied  state,  had  fallen  to  Prussia  by 
inheritance  in  1707,  and  in  181 5  became  a  canton  of  Switzerland, 
with  sovereign  rights  reserved  to  Prussia.  Between  1830  and 
1840  a  republican  party  came  to  the  fore,  and  the  principality  was 
convulsed  by  numerous  revolutionary  attempts.  Shortly  after  the 
outbreak  of  the  February  revolution  in  Paris,  however,  by  a  revo- 
lution of  March  i  the  Republicans  declared  the  rights  of  Prussia 
to  be  extinct.  When,  therefore,  the  Confederation  was  reorgan- 
ized, Neuchatel  was  inserted  among  the  states  of  the  modem  Con- 
federation, without  any  formal  reservation  of  the  rights  of 
Prussia. 

For  a  long  time  the  King  of  Prussia  was  hindered  from  pay- 
ing any  attention  to  Neuchatel  by  the  revolutions  in  his  own  coun- 
try and  the  constitutional  struggles  in  Germany;  but  afterward, 
having  in  1852  induced  the  powers  to  guarantee  his  rights  in 
Neuchatel,  he  encouraged  the  royalist  party,  which  was  in  the  mi- 
nority, to  resistance,  and  on  September  3,  1856,  the  Royalists  took 
possession  of  the  cattle,  just  as  the  Republicans  had  done  in  1848. 
The  Republicans  of  the  mountain  district  immediately  broke  out. 


THE    FEDERAL     STATES  669 

1848-1874 

besieged  the  castle,  and  took  it.    Most  of  the  royalist  leaders  were 
taken  prisoners. 

Judicial  proceedings  were  at  once  instituted  by  the  Confedera- 
tion against  the  instigators  of  the  rebellion,  and  the  canton  was 
occupied  by  Federal  troops.  Prussia  protested,  and  was  supported 
by  the  great  powers.  The  French  emperor.  Napoleon  III.,  endeav- 
ored to  induce  Switzerland  to  liberate  the  prisoners,  and  to  give 
up  all  judicial  proceedings,  promising  in  return  to  prevail  upon 
Prussia  to  abandon  Neuchatel.  Switzerland,  however,  was  anxious 
before  all  things  to  save  her  honor,  and  required  first  the  renuncia- 
tion of  the  Prussian  king.  To  this  Napoleon  would  not  agree,  and 
Prussia  prepared  for  war,  appointing  January  2  as  the  final  date 
when  the  negotiations  should  terminate ;  should  Switzerland  by  that 
time  not  have  yielded,  war  would  ensue.  In  Switzerland  itself  the 
entire  population  with  unanimous  enthusiasm  proclaimed  itself  in 
favor  of  the  Republicans  of  Neuchatel,  and  awaited  the  war  with 
heroic  composure  and  an  almost  religious  calm.  All  the  cantons 
prepared  without  hesitation  to  assist  the  one  in  need,  as  though  the 
cause  had  been  their  own.  In  December  the  Federal  Assembly 
ordered  military  preparations,  and  in  a  short  time  the  whole  of 
Switzerland  was  one  great  camp.  Old  and  young  hastened  to  the 
standards;  members  of  the  Polytechnic,  students  and  gymnasts, 
practiced  drilling  daily  at  the  barracks;  high  and  low  vied  with 
one  another  in  willing  self-surrender  to  their  country;  even  the 
school-children,  with  touching  enthusiasm,  brought  money,  cloth- 
ing, and  linen.  By  the  beginning  of  January  30,000  men  were 
already  stationed  on  the  northern  frontier;  the  whole  army  under 
the  command  of  Dufour  numbered  over  100,000  men.  Meanwhile 
Prussia  had  been  forced  to  defer  putting  her  threats  into  execution ; 
the  states  of  southern  Germany  had,  it  is  true,  consented  to  give 
passage  to  the  troops,  but  Austria  kept  Prussia  at  bay,  and  threw  all 
sorts  of  obstacles  in  the  way.  Then  on  January  8,  1857,  at  a  con- 
ference held  between  the  Swiss  envoys  (Barmann  and  Dr.  Kern) 
and  Napoleon  III.,  a  treaty  was  eflfected,  by  which  Switzerland 
engaged  to  liberate  the  prisoners,  but  the  latter  were  to  remain  in 
exile  until  the  affair  of  Neuchatel  should  be  settled.  The  authori- 
ties accepted  these  proposals;  this  acceptance  gave  great  umbrage 
to  many  of  the  people,  but  it  was  the  only  right  thing  to  do.  At  a 
conference  held  in  Paris,  which  lasted  till  April  20,  the  powers  suc- 
ceeded in  inducing  Prussia  to  renounce  all  rights  of  sovereignty  in 


560  SWITZERLAND 

1848-1874 

Neuchatel  in  return  for  certain  small  concessions.  Under  the  old 
Confederation  such  vigorous  action  would  never  have  been  possible, 
and  thus  the  new  Confederation  stood  its  first  test  successfully. 

It  was  again  put  to  the  proof,  and  came  out  no  less  brilliantly, 
throughout  the  course  of  the  foreign  relations  during  the  ten 
years  next  ensuing.  Switzerland  now  enjoyed  a  happy  period  of 
peace,  which  was  particularly  favorable  to  internal  development. 
Whereas  formerly,  as  a  Confederation  of  states,  she  had  completely 
followed  in  the  wake  of  foreign  powers,  she  now  began  with  energy 
to  evolve  an  independent  national  policy,  and  all  parties  united  in 
maintaining  Swiss  independence. 

Foreign  military  service  was  next  abolished  as  unworthy  of  a 
free  republican  state.  The  Federal  Constitution  of  1848  had  only 
prohibited  the  conclusion  of  any  fresh  engagements;  in  1849,  how- 
ever, Naples  having  levied  Swiss  troops  for  the  suppression  of 
revolts  in  Lower  Italy,  the  Radical  party  extorted  a  prohibition  of 
levies;  and  in  1859,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Italian  War,  a  formal 
prohibition  was  issued  against  the  enlisting  of  Swiss  soldiers  in  for- 
eign mercenary  armies,  and  thus  the  "  traffic  in  Swiss  blood," 
pursued  for  four  centuries,  was  legally  abolished. 

Switzerland  next  found  herself  involved  in  troublesome  dis- 
putes .with  France,  but,  thanks  to  the  moderate  and  energetic  atti- 
tude of  the  Federal  Council,  these  were  peaceably  adjusted.  These 
disputes  arose  as  follows :  Soon  a-fter  the  settlement  of  the  question 
of  Neuchatel  Napoleon  IIL  engaged  in  some  vexatious  intrigues 
against  Switzerland,  because  the  latter,  in  consequence  of  the  right 
of  asylum  conceded,  had  become  a  rallying-point  for  French 
refugees;  he  accused  Switzerland  of  encouraging  these  disturbers 
of  the  peace,  and  punished  her  by  restricting  the  freedom  of  traffic 
on  the  frontier  (1858).  Against  this,  however,  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil warmly  protested,  and  even  succeeded  in  effecting  a  partial 
modification  of  the  passport  regulations.  But  in  1859  war  broke 
out  between  Italy  and  Austria  concerning  Lombardy,  and  Napoleon 
engaged  to  help  King  Victor  Emmanuel,  receiving  in  return  a 
promise  of  the  surrender  of  Savoy.  Switzerland  was  in  the  highest 
degree  interested  in  this  transaction,  for  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
the  two  provinces  of  northern  Savoy,  Faucigny  and  Chablais, 
which  had  been  conquered  by  Berne  in  1536,  but  had  afterward  to 
be  given  back,  were  included  in  the  Swiss  neutrality,  and  to  Switz- 
erland had  been  granted  the  right  of  placing  a  military  occupation 


THE    FEDERAL     STATES  661 

184S-1874 

in  these  territories  in  case  of  war.  The  Federal  authorities  there- 
fore immediately  instituted  military  measures  for  the  protection  of 
the  southern  frontier  of  the  Confederation,  and  once  more  ap- 
pointed Dufour  as  general ;  their  precautions  in  favor  of  northern 
Savoy  were  to  all  appearances  favorably  received  by  Napoleon, 
but  were  practically  quite  disregarded.  This  gave  rise  to  great  in- 
dignation in  Switzerland ;  various  widespread  organizations,  such  as 
the  "  Helvetia "  and  "  Griitli "  societies,  and  numerous  popular 
assemblies,  openly  advocated  armed  interference,  and  that  with  a 
view  to  the  conquest  of  North  Savoy.  In  the  Federal  council  Dr. 
Stampfli  also  advocated  war.  But  in  the  Federal  assembly  the 
opinion  prevailed  that  Switzerland  had  no  right  to  the  occupation 
of  North  Savoy,  and  that  it  would  be  sheer  foolhardiness  to  pro- 
voke a  war  on  that  account.  Napoleon  caused  the  matter  to  be  put 
to  the  vote  in  Savoy,  and  brought  the  influence  of  French  agents  to 
bear,  and  in  June,  i860,  he  took  possession  of  Savoy.  The  rest  of 
the  powers  not  daring  to  take  any  action  against  France,  the  situa- 
tion remained  unchanged,  France  undertaking  to  come  to  terms 
with  Switzerland. 

A  simultaneous  dispute  with  France  about  the  Dappental 
terminated  more  successfully  for  Switzerland.  This  territory  had 
been  annexed  by  France  during  the  time  of  the  "  Mediation,"  but 
restored  to  Switzerland  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna.  France,  how- 
ever, had  never  vacated  it,  but  still  kept  a  military  occupation  there, 
and  otherwise  infringed  the  territorial  rights  of  the  Swiss.  Switz- 
erland therefore  demanded  definite  satisfaction,  and  finally  in 
1862  effected  a  peaceable  division  of  the  territory,  France  being  at 
the  same  time  forced  to  promise  to  erect  no  fortress  there  and  levy 
no  customs. 

Switzerland  remained  thenceforth  unmolested,  and  when 
danger  threatened  was  able  to  set  it  aside  by  a  determined  and 
forcible  attitude,  and  to  make  her  position  honored  and  respected 
by  the  outer  world.  In  earlier  times,  since  the  Reformation,  neu- 
trality had  been  a  necessity  on  account  of  internal  dissensions  and 
instability;  now,  however,  it  was  consciously  embraced  as  the 
noblest  attitude,  and  the  one  most  worthy  of  a  popular  republic: 
and  whereas  it  had  been  formerly  either  carelessly  preserved  or  not 
maintained  at  all,  now  all  parties  united  to  defend  it,  and  Switzer- 
land moreover  possessed  an  efficient  military  force  for  the  purpose. 
This  was  shown  during  the  wars  between  Prussia  and  Austria  in 


663  SWITZERLAND 

1848-1874 

1866,  and  between  Germany  and  France  in  1 870-1 871.  During 
the  former  their  chief  concern  was  to  cover  the  southeast  frontier ; 
the  Miinstertal  in  the  Grisons  was  occupied  by  Federal  troops,  and 
preparations  were  made  for  a  levy  of  the  whole  Federal  army ;  but 
the  speedy  termination  put  to  the  war  by  Prussia  made  further 
proceedings  unnecessary.  During  the  Franco-German  war  Switz- 
erland was  still  more  exposed,  for  it  was  easily  possible  for  either 
of  the  two  powers  to  use  her  as  a  bridge,  and  she  had  reason  to 
fear  a  fate  similar  to  that  of  the  coalition  period. 

The  whole  of  Switzerland,  therefore,  as  well  as  the  foreign 
powers,  heard  with  rejoicing  the  proclamation  of  the  Federal 
Council  that  an  armed  neutrality  would  be  strictly  preserved  under 
all  circumstances.  Colonel  Herzog-  of  Aargau  was  appointed  gen- 
eral by  the  Federal  Assembly,  and  with  the  greatest  rapidity  a 
body  of  about  50,000  men  was  placed  on  the  western  and  northern 
frontiers,  to  repel  any  attack  which  might  be  made  upon  Switzer- 
land. Only  the  fugitive  army  of  Bourbaki,  of  80,000  men,  passed 
the  frontier  in  February,  1871,  and  was  disarmed,  that  it  might  be 
sheltered  in  the  country;  Switzerland  exercised  her  right  of  hospi- 
tality in  friendly  fashion,  and  was  indefatigable  in  rendering  aid 
and  nursing  the  wounded.  The  storm  which  shook  the  neighbor- 
ing lands  to  their  foundations  was  once  more  happily  averted  by 
Switzerland.  Meanwhile,  in  both  these  perils  of  war  of  1866  and 
1 870- 1 87 1,  Switzerland  recognized  the  serious  defects  of  her  some- 
what neglected  military  system,  and  saw  that  it  was  only  by  keep- 
ing pace  with  foreign  powers  in  the  improvement  of  arms  and 
tactics,  and  only  by  the  possession  of  an  army  which  should  be  as 
far  as  possible  uniform  in  discipline,  that  she  could  feel  secure 
against  all  attempts  from  without. 

No  party  any  longer  maintained  that  Switzerland  should  play 
an  independent  part  in  foreign  wars,  as  she  had  done  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  Rather  is  it  characteristic  that  all  should  have  united  in 
recognizing  that  the  one  and  only  task  for  Switzerland  should  be 
to  secure  the  blessings  of  peace  to  herself,  and  to  labor  also  in  the 
cause  of  peace  for  other  lands. 

A  succession  of  treaties  and  transactions  between  Switzerland 
and  other  countries  from  i860  to  1880  testify  to  the  carrying  out 
of  this  idea.  Thus  in  1864  the  "  Convention  of  Geneva  "  was 
called  into  existence  by  Switzerland,  by  which  the  powers  bound 
themselves  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  soldiers  wounded  in 


THE     FEDERAL     STATES  663 

1848-1874 

war,  the  "  Red  Cross  League."  In  1865  Switzerland  formed  the 
center  of  a  European  telegraph  treaty,  with  the  seat  of  the  inter- 
national bureau  at  Berne. 

In  1872  she  came  once  more  to  the  fore,  in  order  to  settle  by 
arbitration  a  dispute  which  had  arisen  between  England  and  the 
United  States  about  the  steam  vessel  Alabama,  constructed  in  Eng- 
land for  the  Southern  States,  which  did  great  damage  to  the  Federal 
Government  during  the  Civil  War.  The  Alabama  arbitration 
tribunal  met  in  Gevena,  where  Dr.  Stampfli  represented  Switz- 
erland. 

This  attitude  of  Switzerland,  this  her  task  of  becoming  the 
promoter  and  the  center  of  the  interests  of  international  civiliza- 
tion, finds  its  noblest  and  most  distinct  expression  in  the  under- 
taking of  the  St.  Grotthard  railway,  which,  initiated  by  Switzerland, 
was  rendered  possible  by  the  assistance  of  Italy  and  Germany  in  1869 
and  1 87 1,  the  direction  of  the  work  being  intrusted  to  Switzer- 
land. The  Federal  Council  took  up  a  position  far  above  all  can- 
tonal interests,  which  were  in  favor  of  other  lines,  and  decreed  in 
subsidies  the  sum  of  twenty  million  francs  for  this  highly  important 
international  work. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  new  Federation  it  became 
specially  necessary  for  the  several  cantons  to  guard  their  Liberal 
institutions,  since  Switzerland  also  suffered  from  the  influence  of 
the  general  European  reaction  which  set  in  after  1848,  and  threat- 
ened manifold  injury  to  the  fine  achievements  of  the  past.  In 
Berne  the  Radical  government,  with  Stampfli  at  its  head,  was 
forced  to  make  room  for  the  Conservatives  in  1850;  the  latter  at- 
tacked the  training  school  for  teachers  in  Miinchenbuchsee,  which 
was  managed  on  principles  too  liberal  for  the  people,  and  expelled 
its  director,  Grunholzer  of  Zurich,  thus  imitating  the  proceedings 
of  the  September  government  in  Zurich.  In  St.  Gall  the  Ultra- 
montanists  violently  opposed  every  constitutional  revision,  and 
specially  directed  their  attacks  against  the  cantonal  school  founded 
in  1856.  The  Liberal  government  of  Fribourg,  which  had  been 
appointed  by  the  Federation  in  1847,  could  find  no  firm  footing. 
During  the  years  1848  to  1853  no  fewer  than  four  Ultramontane 
riots  {"  Putsche  ")  followed  one  another  in  quick  succession,  under 
Carrard,  Wuilleret,  and  Perrier,  which  finally,  in  1857,  led  to  the 
victory  of  reaction;  in  consequence  of  which  the  religious  houses 
and  the  educational  system  favorable  to  the  Jesuits  were  again 


564, 


SWITZERLAND 


1848-1874 

restored,  and  more  privileges  were  bestowed  upon  the  bishops 
and  clergy. 

In  the  face  of  these  events  the  Liberals  of  Switzerland  roused 
themselves  to  make  a  desperate  effort;  the  need  of  closer  union 
began  to  be  realized,  and  hence  in  October,  1858,  the  men's  society, 
called  "  Helvetia,"  was  formed  in  Langenthal,  which  took  for  its 
object  a  war  of  progress  against  Ultramontanism  and  reaction,  for 
the  elevation  of  Swiss  intellectual  and  social  life,  and  which  for  a 
time  exhibited  great  activity.  Meanwhile  the  general  tendency  of 
the  public  mind  was  moving  forward,  and  by  about  i860  much 
progress  had  already  been  made  in  cantonal  affairs.  Thus  funda- 
mental changes,  both  internal  and  external,  were  brought  about  in 
Geneva  by  the  great  popular  leader,  James  Fazy.  In  Soleure  the 
popular  party  under  Landammann  Wilhelm  Vigier  extended  the 
rights  of  the  people  and  promoted  education  and  culture.  Almost 
all  the  cantons  revised  their  constitutions  with  a  view  to  the  in- 
crease and  improvement  of  popular  rights.  In  St.  Gall,  too,  the 
Liberals  now  prevailed,  and  in  1861  inserted  in  their  constitution 
the  election  of  the  great  council  according  to  political  instead  of 
communal  divisions,  the  direction  of  the  educational  system  by  the 
state,  mutual  independence  of  the  creeds  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  an 
improved  veto,  and  the  like.  In  1863  the  numerous  Jews  in  Aargau 
received  the  rights  of  citizenship. 

The  years  i860 1880  brought  fundamental  changes  in  political 
life.  The  Liberal  governments,  which  had  given  a  violent  impetus 
to  trade  and  industry,  seemed  to  concern  themselves  rather  with  the 
interests  of  the  higher  classes,  and  to  trouble  themselves  less  about 
the  wishes  and  interests  of  the  people.  Moreover,  they  consist- 
ently held  fast  to  the  principles  of  representative  constitutions,  and 
opposed  all  demands  for  an  extension  of  the  part  taken  by  the 
people  in  legislation  in  the  form  of  the  Veto,  the  Referendum,  and 
the  Initiative. 

Moreover  fresh  needs  began  to  arise,  both  agricultural  and 
social.  The  peasantry  and  artisan  class  being  seen  to  be  starving 
and  in  want,  improvements  in  the  material  conditions  of  the  people 
were  demanded,  such  as  the  alleviation  of  military  duty,  the  aboli- 
tion of  school  fees,  the  reduction  of  the  price  of  salt,  equal  division 
of  taxes,  the  establishment  of  cantonal  banks,  the  enlargement  of 
the  popular  schools,  the  erection  of  technical  and  secondary 
schools,  etc. 


THE     FEDERAL     STATES  565 

1848-1874 

A  Democratic  party  was  thus  formed  almost  everywhere, 
which  endeavored  to  thrust  aside  the  representative  system,  and  to 
comply  with  these  popular  requirements.  A  succession  of  great 
constitutional  changes  ensued.  Baselland  took  the  lead  in  1863; 
here  the  Democratic  party  gained  the  day,  under  Christoph  Rolle, 
and  carried  the  compulsory  Referendum,  the  Initiative,  the  election 
of  the  government  by  the  people,  etc.  Zurich  next  followed. 
After  making  many  futile  attacks  upon  the  so-called  "  system  " 
then  existing  under  the  auspices  of  Alfred  Escher,  the  people  were 
at  length  aroused  in  1867.  The  leaders,  Bleuler,  Zangger,  and  others, 
determined  to  organize  four  great  Lands gemeinden  in  Zurich, 
Uster,  Winterthur,  and  Biilach  on  December  15.  Between  26,cxx) 
and  27,000  signatures  were  given  in  favor  of  revision.  The  people 
accepted  it  by  50,000  votes  against  7300,  and  in  1869  a  Constitu- 
tional Council  drew  up  a  new  constitution,  with  the  Referendum, 
Initiative,  free  education,  a  cantonal  bank,  free  military  outfits,  and 
abolition  of  the  holding  of  offices  for  life. 

In  the  same  year  revisions  were  adopted  in  the  canton  of 
Thurgau,  where  the  influence  of  Fiirsprech  Haberlin  was  under- 
mined, and  a  popular  union  under  the  direction  of  Sulzberger, 
Deucher,  Anderwert,  and  others  had  set  the  revision  in  motion,  as 
well  as  in  the  cantons  of  Berne,  Soleure,  and  Lucerne,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  in  Aargau. 

After  the  Federal  revision  of  1874  a  number  of  cantons,  being 
forced  to  alter  their  constitutions,  proceeded  to  introduce  the 
Initiative  or  Referendum,  or  both  together — Baselstadt  in  1875, 
Schaffhausen  in  1876,  Geneva  in  1881,  Neuchatel  in  1882,  and 
Ticino  in  1883.  Counting  the  Landsgemeinde  cantons,*  there  are 
in  all  twenty-four  cantons  which  allow  the  people  a  share  in  the 
legislation  in  one  form  or  another;  one  canton  only — that  of 
Fribourg — still  adheres  to  the  representative  system.  This  intro- 
duction of  the  popular  state  and  popular  government  forms  a  dis- 
tinctive feature  of  the  home  policy  of  this  country. 

As  had  been  the  case  between  1830  and  1840,  so  again  now 
progress  in  the  cantons  was  followed  by  further  efforts  for  Federal 
reorganization.  It  was  not  only  required  that  the  Federation 
should  be  made  more  uniform,  and  greater  centralization  effected 
in  those  departments  where  experience  had  proved  it  to  be  neces- 

^Uri,   Unterwalden    (Obwalden   and   Nidwalden),  Appenzell    (Innerrhoden 
and  Ausserrhoden)  and  Glarus. 


566 


SWITZERLAND 


1848-1874 


sary,  but  a  desire  was  also  expressed  that  the  democratic  principles 
already  established  in  several  cantons  (the  Veto,  Referendum,  and 
Initiative)  should  be  adopted  by  the  Federation.  A  first  and 
partial  attempt  was  made  in  1866,  when,  on  the  occasion  of  a  com- 
mercial treaty  with  France,  it  was  desired  to  expand  the  articles  on 
the  subjects  of  domicile  and  trade.  But  at  the  voting  all  the 
proposals  contained  in  nine  articles  were  rejected,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  which  concerned  the  commercial  treaty,  namely,  the  one 
guaranteeing"  to  the  Jews  rights  of  domicile  equal  to  those  of 
Christians. 

Soon,  however,  further  needs  made  themselves  felt,  notably 
at  the  time  of  the  Franco-German  war,  when  the  modern  German 
empire  came  into  existence,  and  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  uniform 
organization  in  the  arms  and  in  the  legal  system  became  evident. 
From  the  year  1869  onward  various  circumstances  had  conspired 
to  smooth  the  way  for  a  fundamental  reformation,  and  hence  in 
1872  a  total  revision  was  effected.  The  deliberations  of  the  Fed- 
eral authorities  resulted  in  the  drawing  up  of  an  entirely  new 
Federal  Constitution,  which  in  every  way  fulfilled  the  wishes  of  the 
Progressive,  Centralist,  and  Democratic  party:  there  was  to  be  but 
one  army  and  one  law,  and  the  Referendum  and  Initiative  in  the 
Federation  itself  were  to  be  guaranteed  to  the  people.  But  just  on 
account  of  its  extreme  tendency  the  scheme  met  with  violent  opposi- 
tion, and  was  rejected  when  put  to  the  vote. 

This,  however,  by  no  means  brought  matters  to  a  standstill. 
On  the  contrary,  almost  half  the  voters  (about  250,000)  having 
agreed  to  this  new  scheme,  men  took  courage  and  redoubled  their 
exertions.  Societies  uniting  the  Swiss  of  all  parts  had  already 
often  carried  the  day  in  progressive  questions;  similar  methods 
were  now  once  more  adopted,  and  at  a  popular  assembly  held  at 
Soleure  on  June  15,  1873,  at  which  Augustin  Keller  spoke,  a  Volks- 
verein  or  Popular  Association  was  founded,  which,  being  taken 
up  with  enthusiasm,  united  the  Swiss  of  all  parties  and  of  every 
tongue  under  the  banner  of  revision,  and  cleared  the  way  boldly 
in  all  directions. 

The  struggle  against  the  ascendency  of  the  church  in  the  state 
(the  so-called  Kulturkampf) ,  which  exerted  no  small  influence 
upon  the  cause  of  revision,  broke  out  simultaneously  in  Germany 
and  in  Switzerland.  The  Catholic  Church  was  making  violent 
efforts  to  reassert  her  power.      By  the  publication  of  the  papal 


THE    FEDERAL    STATES  56T 

1848-1874 

"  Syllabus"  (the  condemnation  of  all  modern  institutions),  and  of 
the  dogma  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  (1870),  the  Ultramon- 
tane party  exasperated  the  Liberals  throughout  the  country.  The 
governments  hastily  resolved  not  to  acknowledge  the  new  doctrine, 
involving  as  it  did  a  certain  amount  of  danger  to  the  existing  state ; 
and  even  among  the  Catholics  themselves  it  met  with  some  opposi- 
tion :  communities  were  formed  of  "  Old  Catholics,"  who  adhered  to 
the  old  position,  before  the  publication  of  the  papal  infallibility, 
and  these  were  protected  by  the  state  as  communities  of  Christian 
Catholics,  under  Bishop  Herzog. 

This  question  was  taken  up  with  special  earnestness  by  the 
Catholics  of  Switzerland.  With  great  rigor,  here  and  there  even 
with  harshness,  the  authorities  defended  their  rights  against  all 
intended  encroachments.  Mermillod,  a  priest,  venturing  to  style 
himself  "  Bishop  of  Geneva  "  (although  the  bishopric  of  Geneva 
had  been  previously  abolished  by  the  Pope  "  forever"),  was  ban- 
ished from  the  country  by  the  Federation ;  the  states  belonging  to 
the  bishopric  of  Basle  deposed  Bishop  Lachat  in  Soleure,  because  he 
had  deprived  certain  ecclesiastics  who  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
doctrine  of  infallibility.  Berne,  which  carried  on  the  struggle 
between  church  and  state  with  much  excitement  and  great  vehe- 
mence, deprived  more  than  sixty  clergy  in  the  district  of  the  Jura 
for  protesting  against  the  authority  of  the  state;  and  in  1873  the 
Federal  authorities  went  so  far  as  to  expel  the  papal  nuncio  from 
Switzerland,  because  the  Pope  condemned  these  proceedings  in 
strong  terms. 

All  these  events  led  men  to  hold  more  firmly  together,  and  to 
recognize  the  necessity  for  closer  union ;  and  the  more  the  Catholic 
clergy  declaimed  against  the  government,  so  much  the  more  did  the 
Volksverein  and  revision  gain  ground.  In  the  struggle  against  the 
common  foe,  the  progressive  parties,  Liberals  and  Radicals,  Fed- 
eralists and  Centralists,  French  and  German  Swiss,  stretched  out  a 
helping  hand  to  one  another,  and  in  a  new  scheme  for  the  Federal 
Constitution,  drawn  up  in  1873,  a  work  of  reconciliation  was 
effected,  combining  definite  progress  with  discreet  moderation.  On 
Sunday,  April  19,  1874,  this  constitution  was  accepted  by  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  the  Swiss  people  (about  340,000  votes 
against  198,000),  and  of  the  cantons  (fourteen  and  a  half  against 
seven  and  a  half)  ;  and  the  joyful  event  was  celebrated  on  the  first 
lovely  day  of  spring,  April  20,  by  beacon  fires,  the  thunder  of  cannon, 


568  SWITZERLAND 

1848-1874 

and  patriotic  songs  which  resounded  from  mountain  to  mountain 
and  from  valley  to  valley. 

The  principles  contained  in  the  newly  accepted  constitution 
established  before  all  things  greater  centralization  in  the  legal  and 
military  systems.  Laws  relating  to  bonds,  commerce,  and  ex- 
change were  taken  over  by  the  Federal  Government,  as  also  the 
entire  military  system,  including  the  training,  equipment,  and  legis- 
lation of  the  whole  army.  The  Confederation  received  more  author- 
ity in  ecclesiastical  matters:  liberty  of  faith  and  of  conscience  was 
more  warmly  embraced,  and  sacred  and  secular  affairs  were  more 
sharply  defined,  especially  by  the  establishment  of  the  "  civil  estate  " 
{Civilstand) .  The  prohibition  of  the  Jesuits  was  emphasized,  the 
establishment  of  new  religious  houses  was  forbidden,  and  the  erec- 
tion of  fresh  bishoprics  was  made  to  depend  upon  the  consent  of  the 
Federal  Council. 

More  extensive  powers  were  also  conferred  upon  the  Federal 
Government  in  matters  of  political  economy,  relating  to  railways, 
the  system  of  banknotes,  water-works,  and  forest  regulations  in 
the  Alps,  hunting  and  fishing,  the  factory  system,  and  the  condi- 
tion of  artisans.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  Federation  was  extended 
in  regard  to  intellectual  culture,  including  the  supervision  of  the 
system  of  primary  schools,  and  the  right  of  founding  a  Federal 
university  and  other  institutions  for  higher  education,  or  of  sup- 
porting those  already  existing. 

The  rights  of  the  people  were  also  extended,  as,  for  example, 
those  of  settlement  and  liberty  of  marriage,  and  the  optional 
Referendum  was  introduced  by  the  stipulation  that  Federal  laws 
must  be  submitted  to  the  popular  vote,  if  required  by  30,000  Swiss 
citizens  entitled  to  vote,  or  by  eight  cantons.  Finally,  the  Federal 
tribunal,  with  powers  materially  augmented,  was  made  into  a  per- 
manent court  of  justice,  holding  its  sessions  in  Lausanne. 


1 


Chapter   XIII 

CENTRALIZATION    AND    SOCIALISM.      1874-1910 

THE  great  political  changes  in  the  cantons,  and  still  more 
the  remodeling  of  the  Confederation,  were  the  results  of 
a  decided  advance  in  public  spirt.  The  struggles  after 
1840,  the  Federal  reforms  after  1850,  the  effects,  so  inspiring  to 
patriotism,  of  the  so-called  "  Prussian  War,"  and  the  agitation  for 
Federal  reforms  from  1869- 1874,  taught  the  people  to  interest  them- 
selves in  national  questions,  and  to  think  and  feel  like  Confederates 
in  a  manner  hitherto  almost  unknown.  A  lively  interest  in  politics 
began  to  show  itself  in  all  parts  among  the  great  mass  of  the  people, 
and  everywhere  men  began  eagerly  to  concern  themselves  about  the 
weal  and  woe  of  the  whole  community.  The  press  did  its  utmost 
to  keep  alive  and  to  increase  this  interest;  the  many  political  clubs 
and  great  national  associations  for  singing,  and  shooting,  and 
gymnastics,  with  their  regularly  recurring  national  festivals,  formed 
a  no  less  important  political  school  for  the  people. 

The  increased  interest  in  politics  has  been  kept  at  flood 
through  the  frequent  opportunities  for  the  discussion  of  national 
questions  by  the  Referendum.  No  political  institution  of  modem 
times  has  served  so  well  to  develop  a  true  national  life.  The  exer- 
cise of  the  Referendum  is  a  periodic  practical  lesson  in  politics  of 
inestimable  value  to  the  people  at  large.  Party  machinery  and 
organization  outside  the  legislature  is  almost  entirely  lacking  in 
Switzerland.  According  to  a  distinguished  publicist,  "  there  are  in 
the  Confederation  no  national  committees,  no  elaborate  system  of 
primary  caucuses  and  general  conventions,  no  men  who  make  a  busi- 
ness of  arranging  nominations  and  managing  campaigns.  The  Cleri- 
cals and  Radicals  do  occasionally  hold  congresses,  but  these  are 
simply  intended  to  prevent  disruption  by  discussing  the  questions  of 
the  day ;  they  take  no  part  in  the  nomination  of  candidates."  In  one 
way  only  do  parties  play  an  important  role :  they  secure  demand  for 
the  Referendum  and  draft  Initiative  petitions.  A  group  of  profes- 
sional politicians,  the  neifisager,  make  a  business  of  collecting  signa- 

569 


670  SWITZERLAND 

1874-1877 

tures  against  Federal  laws  and  of  raising  an  opposition.  Bills  which 
have  passed  both  houses  of  the  Federal  Assembly  may  be  said  to  be 
on  probation  for  ninety  days,  for  if  within  that  time  a  sufficiently 
numerous  body  of  citizens — 30,000  active  citizens  or  the  govern- 
ments of  eight  cantons — demand  a  popular  vote  upon  the  bill,  the 
vote  must  be  ordered  by  the  Federal  Council,  and  the  acceptance  or 
rejection  is  finally  decided  by  that.  Certain  measures  are  regarded 
as  outside  the  sphere  of  the  Referendum.  These  are  resolutions  not 
of  general  application,  treaties  with  foreign  states  or  financial  mat- 
ters, as  the  annual  budget,  estimates  and  appropriations  for  the  pur- 
pose of  acquiring  war  material,  and  Federal  resolutions  granting 
subsidies  for  the  diking  of  rivers  and  the  construction  of  roads.  The 
first  law  to  be  submitted  to  popular  vote  since  the  introduction  of  the 
Federal  Referendum  was  the  law  on  marriage  and  the  civil  rite  of 
December  24,  1874.  This  law  placed  the  performance  of  the  civil 
rite  and  the  custody  of  the  registers  which  refer  to  it  in  the  hands 
of  the  civil  authorities  of  the  Confederation,  forbade  the  imposing 
of  conditions  in  restraint  of  marriage  founded  on  differences  of 
creed  or  the  poverty  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  parties,  and  declared 
that  a  religious  ceremony  of  marriage  should  not  take  place  until 
after  the  legal  celebration  by  a  civil  official.  Divorce  proceedings 
were  further  committed  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Federal  courts  and 
the  grounds  sufficient  for  a  divorce  enumerated.  In  effect  the  act 
inaugurated  a  policy  of  centralization  and  secularization,  and  there- 
fore met  with  much  opposition.  Catholics  and  Conservative  Prot- 
estants to  the  number  of  106,560  signed  a  demand  for  a  Referen- 
dum. At  the  vote  which  followed  the  law  was  accepted  by  a  small 
majority.* 

The  extension  of  Federal  authority  in  the  constitution  of  1874 
to  cover  labor  legislation  led  to  the  passage  of  several  acts  for 
the  protection  of  laborers,  with  the  result  that  the  Confederation 
has  gone  a  long  way  toward  establishing  a  uniform  labor  law.  The 
law  of  July  I,  1875,  made  railroad  and  steamboat  companies  re- 
sponsible for  accidents  to  their  employees.  Another  act  of  March 
23,  1877,  extended  the  same  principle  to  the  factories  of  Switzer- 
land. The  Constitution  of  1874  gives  the  Federal  Government  the 
right  to  "  enact  uniform  regulations  upon  the  work  of  children  in 
factories,  upon  the  duration  of  the  work  of  adults  therein,  and  for 
the  protection  which  should  be  accorded  to  workpeople  employed 
in  unhealthy  and  dangerous  industries."    Acting  within  authority 

1213,199  to  205,069. 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    671 

1877-1894 

the  Federal  Assembly  enacted  that  all  workrooms  and  machinery 
must  be  kept  in  such  a  state  as  shall  not  be  injurious  to  the  life  or . 
health  of  the  laborers;  that  light  and  ventilation  must  be  ample; 
that  the  legal  liability  of  the  owner  in  regard  to  accidents  extends 
to  all  injuries  sustained  by  employees  which  have  been  caused  to 
the  latter  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  or  by  the  default  of  the 
managers,  overseers,  or  other  representative  officials,  unless  it  can 
be  proved  that  the  accident  was  due  to  unpreventable  causes  or  to 
negligence  on  the  part  of  the  victim.  The  law  furthermore  fixes 
the  normal  day  at  eleven  hours,  shortened  to  ten  hours  on  Saturdays 
and  the  days  preceding  holidays.  Women  are  specially  protected 
by  the  law,  and  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age  may  not 
legally  be  employed  in  factories.  The  factory  act  was  submitted  to 
popular  vote  by  the  Referendum  on  October  21,  1877,  and  was  ^- 
cepted  by  the  people  in  spite  of  opposition  in  the  industrial  centers. 
The  act  of  1877  is  the  basis  of  the  factory  laws  of  Switzerland. 
It  has  reduced  the  evils  of  child  labor  to  small  proportions  and 
greatly  improved  the  status  of  adult  employees  in  the  factories.  The 
administration  of  the  law  has  been  improved  year  by  year,  and  its 
benefits  widely  extended.  The  principal  defect  consists  in  its  lim- 
itations. It  does  not  go  far  enough  to  satisfy  the  social  reformers 
or  the  cantonal  legislatures.  It  entirely  ignores  the  home  indus- 
tries where  over  a  hundred  thousand  persons — men,  women,  and 
children — are  employed.  Such  industries  are  beyond  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Federal  law,  and  therefore  Federal  inspection  both 
regarding  hours  of  work  and  the  healthfulness  of  the  places  of  work. 
Various  attempts  have  been  made  by  the  cantonal  legislatures  to 
make  up  for  these  shortcomings,  but  the  Federal  Government  has 
been  unable  to  deal  with  the  matter,  largely  because  of  the  inherent 
difficulties  in  such  legislation.  Again,  the  factory  act  fails  to  con- 
trol the  trades  and  smaller  industries.  An  attempt  was  made  in 
1894  to  amend  the  Constitution  so  as  to  give  the  central,  authorities 
power  to  legislate  for  these.  The  amendment,  however,  was  so 
broad  in  its  terms  that  it  gave  the  Confederation  the  right  to  legis- 
late on  labor  organizations  and  even  to  compel  workmen  to  join  in 
trade-unions.  As  a  decided  reaction  against  socialistic  and  central- 
izing legislation  had  set  in,  the  law  was  very  unpopular.  Either 
tendency  would  probably  have  been  sufficient  to  defeat  it  at  the 
polls,  and  therefore  it  was  rejected  at  a  Referendum  by  a  decisive 
majority,  though  only  about  forty-three  per  cent,  of  the  electors 


672  SWITZERLAND 

1894-1895 

went  to  the  polls.  Several  lesser  acts  of  recent  years  have  regu- 
lated the  size,  ventilation,  and  sanitary  condition  of  workrooms 
so  that  to-day  laborers  are  assured  comfortable  and  healthful 
quarters  in  all  larger  factories.  The  best  of  evidence  for  the 
efficacy  of  the  legislation  upon  factory  and  home  sanitation  lies  in 
the  fact  that  the  rate  of  mortality  is  at  the  very  low  figure  of  19  in 
1000.  Again,  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  only  three  per  cent,  of 
the  total  number  of  deaths  are  from  accidents  to  laborers  in  the 
course  of  their  employment. 

In  the  matter  of  regulating  and  improving  the  sanitary  condi- 
tion of  the  lodgings  of  the  poor,  Switzerland  is  well  to  the  front 
among  European  countries.  Several  of  the  large  cities  have  intro- 
duced excellent  reforms  in  this  respect.  In  Basle  an  elaborate  law 
went  into  effect  in  1895  which  provides  that  every  house  must  have 
at  least  one  fireproof  stairway,  regulates  the  height  of  dwellings, 
and  requires  that  there  shall  be  no  living  or  sleeping-rooms  in 
cellars.  As  early  as  1894  the  city  of  Berne  owned  66  buildings, 
which  it  rented  to  workingmen  at  a  profit  of  from  three  to  four 
per  cent.  Since  then  Berne  has  more  than  doubled  the  number  of 
edifices  for  this  purpose.  Neuchatel  has  23  houses  containing  210 
rooms.  Zurich  has  made  a  beginning.  Lausanne  bought  ground 
for  a  similar  experiment  in  1898.  And  more  recently  Geneva  has 
gone  into  the  construction  of  a  series  of  workingmen's  houses  whose 
combined  cost  is  to  be  2,024,000  francs.  Swiss  cities,  in  gen- 
eral, are  building  little  cottages  of  two  apartments  each,  with 
a  garden  attached,  though  Geneva  is  constructing  four-story 
tenements. 

Among  the  efforts  which  Switzerland  has  recently  taken  to 
alleviate  the  misery  of  its  poorer  classes  insurance  occupies  an  im- 
portant place.  Legislation  of  this  character  has  gone  farthest  in 
the  cantons.  As  early  as  1855  the  canton  of  Basle  had  an  assistance 
fund  to  which  contributions  from  journeymen  workmen  were 
obligatory.  The  canton  of  St.  Gall  began  an  experiment  in  1885 
with  compulsory  insurance  for  all  residents.  Other  cantons  have 
introduced  similar  experiments.  In  1890  the  people  and  cantons 
of  Switzerland  accepted  the  following  amendment  to  the  Federal 
Constitution :  "  The  Confederation  shall  introduce,  by  means  of 
legislation,  a  system  of  insurance  against  sickness  and  accidents, 
taking  into  account  the  existing  friendly  societies.  It  can  declare 
that  all  persons  shall  compulsorily  insure  themselves  or  may  confine 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    573 

1895-1899 

it  to  certain  classes  of  citizens."  A  Federal  commission  then  re- 
ported in  favor  of  compulsory  insurance  in  case  of  sickness  and 
accident.  In  1893  the  Federal  Council,  encouraged  by  the  financial 
success  of  the  alcohol  monopoly,  proposed  a  tobacco  monopoly  to 
provide  means  for  a  scheme  of  government  insurance  against  acci- 
dents and  sickness,  a  scheme  which  had  met  with  approval  in  1890. 
Nothing  came  of  this  particular  project,  but  it  emphasized  the  de- 
mand for  some  system  of  compulsory  workingmen's  insurance,  and 
after  many  years  of  discussion  on  October  5,  1899,  a  law  passed 
both  houses  of  the  Federal  Assembly  without  a  dissenting  vote.  The 
act  was  known  as  the  "Law  of  Insurance  against  Sickness  and 
Accident  and  of  Military  Insurance."  It  provided  for  the  com- 
pulsory insurance  of  all  persons  above  fourteen  years  of  age,  working 
for  others,  with  certain  exceptions.  The  insured  were  divided  into 
ten  classes,  according  to  the  amount  of  their  daily  earnings.  All 
persons  without  an  independent  means  of  livelihood  were  to  take 
out  insurance  against  sickness  and  accident.  Great  care  was  taken 
to  conciliate  mutual  benefit  societies  and  the  highly  paid  artisan 
class.  The  expense  of  the  administration  of  the  system  and  one- 
fifth  of  the  premiums  were  charged  to  the  Confederation.  The  law 
met  with  much  opposition  on  account  of  the  tendency  to  favor  the 
careless  and  the  drunkard  rather  than  the  conscientious  hard  worker, 
and  because  of  the  army  of  parasitic  bureaucrats  necessary  to  admin- 
ister its  intricacies.  Moreover,  the  measure  was  complicated  with 
restrictions  and  exceptions.  Many  believed  that  the  plan  was  prac- 
tically impossible  of  execution.  The  rural  population  disliked  it; 
the  industrial  workers  were  indifferent.  The  opposition  called  for 
the  Referendum,  with  the  result  that  the  law  was  rejected,  May  20, 
1900,  with  the  very  decisive  majority  of  337,000  to  146,000.  It  was 
estimated  that  the  law  would  have  cost  the  state  annually  eight 
million  francs.  Nevertheless,  the  idea  of  compulsory  insurance 
administered  by  the  Federal  Government  is  highly  favored  by  an 
increasing  number  of  Swiss,  so  that  it  may  be  said  that  the  rejection 
of  the  law  of  1899  has  simply  postponed  the  matter  for  further 
discussion  and  study. 

Another  consideration  of  the  highest  importance  in  recent 
Swiss  history  has  been  the  development  of  a  system  of  railroads  and 
the  final  nationalization  of  these.  Since  1840  great  zeal  has  been 
exhibited  in  the  construction  of  carriage  roads  and  highroads,  and 
of  good  passes  over  the  Alps.    The   fame   which   Berne  and  the 


574»  SWITZERLAND 

1830-1882 

Grisons  had  enjoyed  in  this  respect  during  the  eighteenth  century 
has  been  gradually  extended  to  a  great  number  of  the  cantons,  and 
the  Federation  has  expended  great  sums  upon  the  making  of 
mountain  roads.  Artistic  bridges  of  stone  and  iron  of  wonderful 
construction  have  replaced  the  old  wooden  bridges. 

Since  1830,  too,  traffic  has  been  facilitated  by  the  use  of  steam. 
The  appearance  of  the  lakes  has  been  enlivened  by  steamboats,  and 
the  land  has  been  intersected  by  numberless  railroads.  The  first 
independent  national  railway  of  Switzerland  was  the  line  between 
Zurich  and  Baden,  opened  in  1847.  Joint-stock  companies  were 
formed  in  all  parts,  and  between  1854  and  1859  the  main  lines  of 
the  great  network  of  Swiss  railways  came  into  existence,  the  Central 
and  Northeastern,  the  United  Swiss  lines,  the  Western  lines,  etc. 
By  and  by  a  veritable  "  railway  fever  "  raged,  and  the  network  of 
railways  rapidly  spread  throughout  the  mountain  defiles. 

The  mountain  railways  of  Switzerland  are  very  remarkable, 
and  a  world-wide  reputation  attaches  to  the  international  railroad 
through  the  St.  Gotthard.  The  plans  for  this  undertaking  having 
been  matured,  chiefly  through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  Alfred  Escher,  and 
their  execution  having  been  rendered  possible  by  the  treaty  of  Italy 
and  Germany  with  Switzerland,  the  Gotthard  Company  was  formed, 
and  stock  and  bonds  were  issued.  The  actual  work  of  tunnel  con- 
struction was  begun  in  the  summer  of  1872,  under  the  engineer 
Favre  of  Geneva.  But  many  difficulties  had  yet  to  be  overcome ;  the 
work  of  excavation  was  much  harder,  and  the  cost  of  the  whole 
amounted  to  much  more  than  had  been  expected.  In  1878  and  1879 
supplementary  subsidies  had  to  be  added,  eight  millions  by  Switzer- 
land, and  ten  millions  by  Germany  and  Italy.  The  "  Gotthard 
crisis  "  was  successfully  passed  through  the  patriotism  of  the  Swiss 
people,  and  on  February  29,  1880,  the  piercing  of  the  St.  Gotthard 
tunnel  was  achieved.  Favre,  however,  did  not  live  to  see  his  work 
completed,  having  died  of  heart  disease  a  short  time  previously  in 
the  tunnel  itself.  The  first  passenger  train  passed  through  November 
I,  1 88 1,  and  the  whole  stretch  of  15,000  meters  was  formally 
opened  for  traffic  in  1882.  The  marvelous  structure  of  this  Alpine 
railway,  its  windings  above  and  beneath  the  earth,  its  imposing 
bridges,  its  tunnels,  of  which  about  fifty  smaller  ones  may  be 
counted — and  no  less  its  significance  for  the  traffic  of  the  whole 
world — ^all  combine  to  elevate  this  into  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
engineering  undertakings  of  modern  times,  and  Switzerland  enjoys 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    675 

1852-1891 

the  honor  of  having  accomplished  the  greater  part  of  the  work  of 
its  construction. 

The  question  of  state  ownership  of  railroads  in  Switzerland 
dates  back  to  the  beginning  of  railroad  building.  A  plan  proposed 
by  the  Federal  Council  for  the  construction  of  a  state  system  was 
rejected  in  1852  in  favor  of  construction  by  private  companies 
under  charters  issued  by  the  cantons  with  the  approval  of  the  Con- 
federation. All  the  concessions  which  were  made  contained  prcn 
visions  looking  to  the  ultimate  purchase  of  the  railroads.  The  char- 
ters gave  opportunity  for  state  purchase  every  fifteen  years  upon 
five  years'  previous  notice.  The  first  of  these  periods  came  in  1883 
and  the  question  of  nationalization  was  raised  in  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil, but  owing  to  the  bad  financial  condition  of  the  railroads  nothing 
was  done.  As  the  next  opportunity  for  the  purchase  of  the  rail- 
roads would  not  come  until  1898,  the  friends  of  the  movement 
agitated  for  voluntary  purchases.  In  December,  1887,  an  agree- 
ment was  nearly  concluded  for  the  purchase  of  the  Northeast  Rail- 
road. The  plan  proposed  in  this  case  was  for  the  Northeast 
Railroad  Company  to  cede  to  the  Confederation  all  its  movable  and 
immovable  property  and  receive  in  return  at  their  nominal  value 
Swiss  bonds  bearing  three  and  a  half  per  cent,  interest  at  the  rate 
of  600  francs  for  each  preferred  share  and  500  francs  for  every 
common  share.  However,  the  Federal  Council  became  solicitous 
about  securing  a  majority  vote  in  the  Federal  Assembly  and  with- 
drew from  the  negotiations. 

During  1890  and  1891  the  Federal  Council  made  an  attempt 
to  secure  an  influence  over  the  policy  of  the  Jura-Simplon  railroad 
by  the  purchase  of  a  large  share  of  the  preferred  stock.  The  Con- 
federation bought  77,090  shares  at  120,  paying  three  per  cent,  bonds 
quoted  at  90,  but  no  further  purchases  were  attempted  after 
1891.  This  action  simply  made  the  government  the  controlling 
stockholder  and  the  financial  manager,  but  the  control  of  this  great 
railroad  was  an  important  step  toward  Federal  ownership.  In 
June,  1 89 1,  the  Federal  Assembly  authorized  the  Federal  Council 
to  purchase  the  Central  Railroad  at  the  price  of  1000  francs  for 
every  share  of  500  francs,  payable  in  three  per  cent,  bonds  quoted 
at  par.  These  terms  were,  however,  so  unfavorable  to  the  Confed- 
eration that  a  Referendum  was  resorted  to,  and  the  agreement  was 
rejected  by  a  large  majority.  As  a  result  of  a  thorough  investiga- 
tion the  Federal  authorities  reached  the  conclusion  that  nationaliza- 


576  SWITZERLAND 

1895-1898 

tion  was  desirable,  and  set  about  systematically  to  accomplish  that. 
The  first  step  to  prepare  the  way  for  such  a  measure  was  the  Ac- 
counting law  of  1895.  This  prescribed  in  detail  the  method  of 
keeping  accounts  which  railways  were  compelled  to  follow.  The 
railway  companies  were  required  to  lay  printed  copies  of  their  re- 
ports before  the  Federal  Council,  and  their  accounts  were  regulated 
by  the  Department  of  Posts  and  Railways  in  much  the  same  way 
that  national  banks  are  controlled  in  the  United  States.  The  prin- 
cipal object  of  the  law  was  to  secure  publicity  of  accounts  from 
which  a  more  accurate  determination  of  the  "  net  annual  revenue  " 
and  the  "  value  of  the  plant "  might  be  made.  The  law  met  with 
considerable  opposition,  especially  in  the  Italian  and  French  cantons 
of  Switzerland.  It  was  asserted  to  be  an  insidious  attempt  to  com- 
mit the  people  to  state  ownership  of  railways.  The  excitement 
nearly  resulted  in  a  race  conflict  between  Romance  Switzerland  and 
German  Switzerland.  The  Referendum  was  called  for,  and  the  act 
was  accepted  by  the  people  only  after  an  exciting  campaign.  The 
result  was  a  victory  for  the  cause  of  nationalization.  The  Federal 
Council  then  proceeded  to  draft  a  law  for  the  purchase  and  opera- 
tion of  the  railroads,  and  laid  this  before  the  Federal  Assembly, 
March  25,  1897.  As  most  of  the  concessions  granted  by  the  Federal 
Government  to  the  private  companies  expired  on  May  i,  1898,  that 
date  was  regarded  by  many  as  a  suitable  time  for  the  state  to  take 
over  the  railways.  Inasmuch  as  five  years'  notice  to  the  companies 
was  necessary,  the  question  of  state  ownership  had  to  be  settled 
promptly  if  the  state  was  to  take  advantage  of  the  next  periodic 
opportunity.  The  project  contemplated  the  purchase  and  the  subse- 
quent operation  of  the  five  principal  Swiss  railway  systems — the 
Jura-Simplon,  the  Central,  the  Northeastern,  the  Swiss  Union,  and 
the  St.  Gotthard — with  an  aggregate  length  of  2374  miles  built  at 
an  original  cost  of  1,210,931,534  francs — equivalent  to  $230,- 
076,991.46.2 

The  Federal  law  for  the  acquisition  and  operation  of  the  rail- 
ways passed  the  Federal  Assembly  on  October  15,  1897.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  opponents  of  purchase  was  composed  of  the  Clerical 
party  and  the  Conservative  Liberals,  both  of  whom  opposed  the 
law  on  motives  of  principle.  It  was  in  a  large  degree  a  question  of 
increasing  centralization  or  preserving  cantonal  independence.  The 
Socialist  party  supported  the  measure,  though  it  did  not  fully  come 
up  to  their  demands.  The  Radical  party,  the  one  controlling  large 
*The  statement  is  for  cost  to  January  i,  1898. 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    677 

1898-1902 

majorities  in  both  chambers,  was  the  sponsor  for  the  bill,  and  its 
members  were  almost  unanimous  in  its  support.  At  the  Referen- 
dum February  20,  1898,  a  large  vote  was  polled,  and  the  measure 
was  accepted  by  the  overwhelming  majority  of  386,634  to  182,718, 
or  by  more  than  two  to  one.  By  this  vote  the  Swiss  people  went 
on  record  in  favor  of  placing  railroads  as  a  public  service  in  line 
with  the  post  office  and  telegraph. 

The  cost  to  the  state  to  nationalize  almost  the  entire  railway 
system  was  already  fixed  by  the  charters  of  the  roads,  and  was  the 
net  income  multiplied  by  twenty-five.  The  income  was  measured 
by  the  average  earnings  of  the  last  ten  years.  The  investment,  heavy 
as  it  naturally  was,  has  secured  a  system  in  excellent  condition,  ready 
to  pay  from  the  beginning  more  than  the  interest  on  the  loan.  The 
purchase  act  provided  that  the  funds  necessary  should  be  raised  by 
the  emission  of  obligations  or  coupon  bonds  to  be  canceled  within 
sixty  years.  One  article  prescribed  the  complete  separation  of  the 
accounts  of  the  railways  from  those  of  the  Confederation,  so  that 
it  would  always  be  impossible  to  operate  the  Federal  railway  for 
political  purposes.  The  railroads  must  serve  exclusively  the  general 
interests  of  traffic,  that  is,  to  reduce  the  cost  of  travel  and  trans- 
portation. For  the  administration  of  the  Federal  railways  a  dis- 
tinct administrative  department  was  created,  decentralizing  as  far 
as  possible  their  management.  The  state  is  divided  into  five  circuits, 
each  with  its  circuit  directory  in  charge  of  the  current  business  of 
the  circuit.  Over  all  is  a  general  directory  of  five  or  seven  mem- 
bers with  its  seat  at  Berne.  In  addition  to  these  bodies  in  direct 
management,  there  is  a  circuit  directory  meeting  quarterly  to  render 
opinions  on  all  questions  concerning  railway  affairs,  especially 
time-tables  and  rates,  in  the  circuit.  An  administrative  council 
of  fifty-five  members  supervises  the  entire  administration,  draws 
up  the  annual  budget,  examines  the  annual  accounts,  fixes  the 
principles  of  rates,  of  classification  of  freight,  of  train  schedules, 
ratifies  contracts  with  other  railways,  domestic  and  foreign,  fixes 
the  remuneration  of  officials,  and  renders  opinions  on  proposed 
changes  in  the  laws  and  ordinances  relating  to  railways.  The 
acquisition  of  the  railroads  by  the  Confederation  was  completed 
in  1902  and  the  railroad  bonds  were  converted  into  three  and 
a  half  per  cent.  Federal  bonds.  Only  a  few  secondary  lines  of 
normal  gauge  and  narrow-gauge  mountain  railroads  remained  in 
the   hands    of   private    companies,    and    the    Federal    Council    is 


678  SWITZERLAND 

1874-1910 

authorized,  with  the  consent  of  the  Federal  Assembly,  to  purchase 
these  lines  The  purchase  of  the  railroads  was  a  decided  triumph 
of  centralization  and  socialism,  and  increased  greatly  the  power  and 
patronage  of  the  Federal  Government.  It  should  be  said  that 
people  believed  in  the  promises  of  the  Radicals  to  furnish  them  with 
a  better  service  at  less  cost.  The  men  employed  on  the  railroads 
supported  the  step  because  they  believed  that  they  would  fare  better 
in  the  hands  of  the  state  than  under  private  ownership.  Above  all 
there  was  a  strong  prejudice  against  corporations  and  foreign  bond- 
holders in  Switzerland,  and  the  Swiss  people  desired  to  be  free  from 
these  influences.  Again,  the  measure  appealed  to  a  patriotic  feeling 
and  was  very  popular.  It  is  yet  too  early  to  speak  of  the  results, 
but  the  Swiss  claim  that  it  has  had  effect  already  in  an  improvement 
of  the  service  and  a  reduction  of  fares.  "  New  and  much-improved 
cars  are  being  built;  they  are  being  attached  to  the  fastest  trains, 
and  the  fares  are  greatly  reduced.  Public  ownership  has  not  lim- 
ited enterprise.  The  lines  are  being  constantly  improved,  and  new 
branches  are  being  built."  The  Simplon  Tunnel,  the  longest  in  the 
world  (i2;J  miles),  was  actually  pierced  on  February  24,  1905,  and 
a  medal  was  struck  to  commemorate  the  acomplishment  of  this 
world-famous  engineering  feat.  Electric  traction  has  been  adopted, 
and  the  Simplon  line  will  give  Switzerland  another  most  valuable 
transcontinental  system. 

The  monopoly  of  telegraphs  was  established  by  Federal  law 
in  1 85 1.  In  like  manner  as  soon  as  it  was  demonstrated  that  tele- 
phones were  useful  they  were  taken  over  by  the  Federal  Cjovern- 
ment  without  any  special  opposition  and  made  an  integral  part  of 
the  postal-telegraphic  system.  The  Confederation  has  the  right  to 
erect  lines  of  either  telegraph  or  telephone  through  any  state,  but 
only  after  consultation  with  the  authorities  of  the  canton  or  com- 
mune through  whose  territories  it  is  proposed  to  pass.  Switzerland 
has  more  telephone  instruments  and  telegraph  offices  in  proportion 
to  the  population  than  any  other  country,  the  estimate  for  the  latter 
reaching  in  1904  a  total  of  5,590  miles  of  line  and  about  five  times 
that  length  of  wire. 

Everywhere  in  a  cool  matter-of-fact  way  government  agencies 
have  assumed  control  of  industrial  operations  until  Switzerland  has 
become  the  political  laboratory  of  the  world.  In  order  to  check  the 
spread  of  drunkenness  the  trade  in  alcohol  was  made  a  state 
monopoly  in  1887.    Peculiar  conditions  prevailed.    Spirits  were  so 


CENTRALIZATION    AND     SOCIALISM    579 

1874-1910 

cheap  that  the  working  class  preferred  spirits  to  beer  and  wine,  and 
the  consumption  of  spirits  was  increasing  in  an  alarming  degree. 
The  Swiss  set  out  deliberately  to  make  alcohol  harder  to  buy.  Two 
methods  presented  themselves,  either  by  a  higher  duty  on  imported 
spirits  and  a  tax  on  domestic  distillers  or  by  a  government 
monopoly.  The  latter  appealed  to  the  social  and  economic  instinct 
of  the  people  and  was  hence  adopted.  The  former  would  have  in- 
terfered with  cantonal  taxation  and  been  obliged  to  face  the 
unpopularity  of  all  centralizing  measures. 

The  enactment  of  the  law  required  a  tedious  process,  and  that 
it  succeeded  in  passing  all  the  necessary  stages  is  evidence  of  its 
popularity.  In  the  first  place  it  was  necessary  to  take  a  Referendum 
upon  the  question  whether  the  Constitution  should  be  so  altered  as 
to  give  the  Federal  Government  the  power  to  create  a  monopoly 
of  the  wholesale  trade  in  distilled  alcohol.  The  proposed  revision 
carried  by  a  large  majority  on  October  25,  1885.  The  Monopoly 
Act  was  then  passed  in  the  last  days  of  December,  1886.  The 
larger  distillers  followed  up  their  opposition  by  an  agitation  for  a 
Referendum,  which  was  taken  on  May  15,  1887,  with  the  result  of 
an  increased  majority  over  the  vote  of  1885  for  the  law.  By  this 
act  of  1887  the  importation  of  alcohol  and  the  distillation  of  pota- 
toes, cereals,  and  foreign  fruit  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Con- 
federation. An  exception  to  this  monopoly  in  spirits  was  made  in 
the  case  of  the  distillation  of  fruits  and  roots,  which  is  free  to  any- 
one. This  was  done  to  encourage  agriculture.  Spirits  used  for 
technical  and  household  purposes  must  be  sold  at  cost  of  manufac- 
ture and  must  be  rendered  unfit  for  drinking  by  the  addition  of 
wood-spirits  or  other  mixtures.  The  Federal  Government  may 
import  spirits  or  make  contracts  with  private  persons  for  distilling. 
It  is  mandatory  upon  it  to  allot  contracts  with  Swiss  distillers  for 
at  least  one^fourth  part  of  the  required  amount  for  home  consump- 
tion. This  is  a  concession  to  private  industry.  The  government 
only  supplies  liquors  in  quantities  of  150  liters  or  more,  so  that 
its  transactions  are  in  wholesale.  The  small  retail  business  is  left 
entirely  to  private  persons,  and  the  licensing  and  regulating  of  this 
business  is  left  wholly  to  the  cantons.  The  net  income  from  sales, 
taxes,  and  customs  received  by  the  Confederation  must  be  handed 
over  to  the  cantonal  governments,  divided  among  them  in  propor- 
tion to  their  population  at  the  last  census.  Distillers  were  com- 
pensated for  their  losses  in  the  diminished  value  of  buildings  and 


580  SWITZERLAND 

plants,  but  not  for  any  losses  in  profits.  The  task  of  compensation 
to  distillers  was  met  with  remarkable  ease  and  success.  Up  to  1890 
claims  including  costs  of  arbitration  amounting  to  4,037,950 
francs  ($767,210.50),  were  paid,  or  about  forty-five  per  cent,  of 
what  the  distillers  asked.  As  an  offset  to  the  loss  by  depreciation 
in  property  according  to  the  claims  of  the  distillers  of  fifty-five  per 
cent,  it  should  be  remembered  that  before  1888  only  one-fourth  of 
the  alcohol  consumed  in  Switzerland  was  of  domestic  manufacture, 
and  still  under  the  monopoly  the  government  is  pledged  to  have 
one-fourth  of  the  alcohol  produced  by  Swiss  distillers  using  raw 
materials  of  home  production.  The  monopoly  is  protected  by  high 
duties  on  imported  liquors.  In  fact,  so  much  higher  are  the  prices 
of  the  Swiss  products  than  those  of  neighboring  countries,  particu- 
larly Austria,  that  the  Confederation  practically  pays  a  large  annual 
bounty  to  its  own  distillers  for  the  domestic  product.  The  admin- 
istration of  the  alcohol  monopoly  is  committed  to  the  Department 
of  Finance  and  Customs.  With  the  going  into  effect  of  the  act  the 
cantonal  licenses  to  sell  spirits  expired.  The  Federal  Govemment 
began  the  sale  of  spirits  under  its  monopoly  on  January  i,  1888. 
The  law  seems  to  have  been  a  success  in  two  respects.  The  financial 
results  have  been  remarkable,  and  the  consumption  of  alcohol  per 
head  has  been  largely  reduced.  The  cantons  are  obliged  to  spend 
one-tenth  of  their  shares  of  the  surplus  in  some  way  calculated  to 
counteract  the  evil  effects  of  alcohol.  This  tithe  has  been  variously 
spent  in  recent  years,  as  it  is  wholly  within  the  power  of  each  canton 
to  determine  what  is  "  combating  alcoholism."  Such  objects  as 
"  institutes  for  the  cure  of  drunkards,"  "  industrial  institutes  and 
reformatories,"  "  lunatic  asylums,"  "  care  of  the  sick,  hospitals, 
etc.,"  "  instruction  in  cookery  and  domestic  economy,  and  food 
depots,"  "  support  of  poor  travelers,"  "  temperance  societies " 
and  "  reading  rooms  and  good  literature  "  are  listed  in  the  several 
cantonal  reports.  One  canton,  Valais,  was  allowed  to  use  its  tithe 
in  erecting  a  training  college  for  elementary  teachers ! 

The  manufacture  and  sale  of  gunpowder  is  exclusively  a  Fed- 
eral monopoly,  secured  by  the  Constitution  of  1874.  In  1891  the 
Federal  Government  assumed  the  monopoly  in  the  issue  of  bank- 
notes. Of  recent  years  there  has  been  a  demand  for  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  industrial  operations  managed  by  the  central 
authorities.  A  law  of  1895  defeated  at  a  Referendum  made  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  matches  a  Federal  monopoly.    Paternalism 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    681 

1874-1910 

once  begun  has  seemed  in  the  case  of  Switzerland  to  have  no  end. 
The  triumphs  of  the  Sociahsts  have  led  them  into  more  pretentious 
designs.  In  1894  a  constitutional  amendment  was  proposed  by 
which  the  hours  of  work  in  various  industries  were  to  be  reduced, 
with  the  aim  of  giving  employment  to  a  greater  number  of  laborers ; 
workmen  were  to  be  provided  gratuitously  with  work,  and  insured 
against  the  consequences  of  loss  of  work.  The  laborers  have  on 
numerous  occasions  attempted  to  secure  state  physicians  and 
pharmacists  who  should  give  their  services  free  to  laborers,  and 
they  have  tried  to  bring  about  a  state  monopoly  in  the  sale  of 
tobacco  and  cereals.  In  the  cantons  and  in  the  cities  the  same  so- 
cialistic tendency  appears.  In  eighteen  cantons  the  government  has 
taken  the  place  of  private  fire  insurance  companies,  receiving 
premiums  and  paying  losses.  Grovernment  banks  are  maintained  in 
a  large  majority  of  the  cantons.  The  sale  of  salt  is  a  government 
monopoly  in  every  canton  in  the  Confederation,  though  the  mining 
or  manufacture  is  in  all  cases  undertaken  by  private  companies 
under  state  charters  or  concessions.  The  city  of  Basle  has  assumed 
the  monopoly  of  retail  in  high  grades  of  alcoholic  beverages. 
Various  cantons  and  communes  have  in  recent  years  assumed  the 
burden  of  burying  the  dead.  They  give  to  all,  rich  and  poor,  the 
same  sort  of  a  burial,  which  is  simple  and  inexpensive.  Govern- 
ment burial  is  not  usually  made  compulsory,  but  where  it  has  been 
adopted  it  becomes  practically  universal.  Greneva  owns  its  lighting 
plant,  and  has  utilized  the  power  of  the  Rhone  River,  making  it 
pump  the  city  water  and  distribute  power  to  the  various  industries 
of  the  city. 

A  matter  of  more  than  passing  moment  in  the  history  of 
Switzerland  has  been  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  functions 
of  the  canton  and  of  the  Confederation.  Such  is  the  "Ticino 
Question,"  which  began  as  early  as  1876  with  a  constitutional  con- 
flict over  representation  and  citizenship.  The  cantonal  constitution 
prescribed  that  representation  should  be  by  districts  without  regard 
to  population.  This  conflicted  with  a  clause  in  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution. Again  the  "  Ticino  "  law  allowed  citizens  removing  from  its 
bounds  to  retain  a  domicile  and  return  to  vote.  Federal  decrees 
and  decisions  from  1876  to  1888  endeavored  with  varying  success 
to  stop  this  double  citizenship.  The  Federal  authorities  interfered 
in  local  insurrections  during  1889  and  1890  and  maintained  their 
right  to  preserve  order  in  cantons  without  waiting  for  a  summons 


683  SWITZERLAND 

1674-1910 

from  the  latter.  However,  at  other  times  the  Swiss  have  shown  an 
attachment  to  cantonal  independence.  Capital  punishment,  which 
had  been  formerly  a  matter  of  cantonal  right,  was  abolished  by- 
Article  65  of  the  Federal  Constitution  of  1874.  Many  asserted 
that  the  abolition  of  capital  punishment  caused  a  fresh  outbreak  of 
crime,  and  started  a  popular  agitation  for  its  restoration.  The  Fed- 
eral Assembly  yielded  to  the  popular  outcry  and  passed  an  amend- 
mient  in  1879  which  was  ratified  in  a  Referendum  by  a  good 
majority.  The  cantons  are  now  free  to  reestablish  the  death  pen- 
alty for  crimes  at  common  law.  Eight  have  done  so,  but  none  of 
them  have  exacted  the  penalty  of  the  law. 

The  period  since  1874  has  been  marked  by  a  growing  confidence 
in  central  government  and  a  decline  in  cantonal  separation.  From 
time  to  time,  after  some  violent  party  strife,  a  closer  union,  and  a 
reconciled  cooperation  to  solve  national  problems  have  been  observ- 
able. Was  the  country  at  any  time  attacked  or  injured,  was  it  a 
question  of  making  some  sacrifice  for  a  patriotic  purpose,  such  as 
the  purchase  of  the  Rutli  in  1861,  the  erection  of  the  Winkelried 
monument  at  Stans,  the  collection  for  the  Winkelried  fund;  were 
oppressed  fellow-Confederates  in  need  of  help  and  support,  as  after 
the  conflagration  in  Glarus  in  1861,  the  landslip  of  Elm  in  1881, 
the  destruction  of  the  quay  in  Zug  in  1887,  i^  such  cases  a  devoted 
and  self-sacrificing  sympathy  has  been  shown  by  all  sections  of  the 
population.  The  Swiss  will  inevitably  feel,  ever  more  and  more 
deeply,  the  truth  of  the  words : 

"  Ans  Vaterland,  ans  theure,  schliess'  dich  an, 
Dort  sind  die  Wurzeln  deiner  Kraft!  "  ^ 

"Die  angebornen  Bande  kniipfe  fest, 

Ans  Vaterland,  ans  theure,  schliess'  dich  an. 
Das  h'dlte  fest  mit  deinem  gansen  Herzen, 
Hier  sind  die  stdrken  Wurzeln  deiner  Kraft." 

Thus  are  gradually  vanishing  those  antagonisms  of  the  can- 
tons, of  creeds,  and  of  party  opinion  which  have  in  the  past  wrought 
such  havoc  among  the  Swiss  people. 

'  "  Knit  fast  the  ties  which  form  your  heritage. 
And  cleave  to  your  beloved  fatherland; 
Hold  to  it  firm  with  all  your  heart  and  soul; 
Here  are  the  hardy  roots  of  all  your  power." 
—"William  Tell."    Translated  by  Major-General  Patrick  MaxwelL 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    683 

1874-1910 

From  time  to  time,  too,  a  warm  interest  was  manifested  in  edu- 
cational questions.  Mindful  of  the  truth  of  Zschokke's  expression : 
"  Popular  education  is  popular  emancipation  " — "  Volksbildung  ist 
Volkshefreiung" — the  statesmen  of  1830- 1840  caused  the  require- 
ments of  the  schools  to  be  laid  before  them  en  masse,  which  might 
well  serve  as  an  example  for  all  future  time.  Frequently  be- 
tween 1850  and  1870,  various  cantons  made  great  efforts  and 
many  sacrifices  for  the  improvement  of  the  education  of  children, 
the  enlargement  of  the  popular  schools,  and  the  promoting  of 
scientific  and  artistic  culture.  Great  scientific  establishments  and 
institutes  arose :  the  cantonal  universities  and  academies,  the  Fed- 
eral polytechnic,  the  cantonal  and  Federal  collections  of  every  kind, 
of  natural  science,  archaeology,  and  the  history  of  art.  From 
various  centers  of  intellectual  life  brilliant  results  were  produced. 
During  1889- 1891  the  famous  international  Catholic  university  was 
established  at  Fribourg.  Time  and  again  educational  matters  have 
been  the  subject  of  serious  conflicts.  In  1882  the  Federal  authori- 
ties raised  a  complaint  against  the  sectarian  teaching  which  pre- 
vailed in  nearly  all  the  elementary  schools.  By  Article  2y  of  the 
Constitution,  "  The  cantons  shall  make  provision  for  elementary 
education,  which  must  be  adequate  and  placed  exclusively  under  the 
direction  of  the  civil  authority.  Such  instruction  shall  be  obliga- 
tory, and  in  the  public  schools  free  of  charge.  The  public  schools 
must  be  so  organized  that  they  may  be  frequented  by  those  belong- 
ing to  all  denominations  without  prejudice  to  their  freedom  of 
belief  or  of  conscience.  The  Confederation  shall  take  such  meas- 
ures as  may  seem  necessary  against  cantons  who  do  not  fulfill  their 
obligations  in  this  matter."  The  aim  of  the  Radicals  was  to  secure 
a  new  law  by  which  education  would  be  secular — the  teachers  lay- 
men, the  subjects  secular,  the  methods  secular,  the  school-houses 
secular — even  in  the  purely  Catholic  communes.  The  attack  was 
construed  to  be  an  attack  on  religion,  and  religious  people  of  all 
sects  united  to  oppose  the  Radicals.  As  a  result  the  law  was  re- 
jected by  the  people  by  one  of  the  largest  votes  which  a  Refer- 
endum has  ever  brought  out.*  Though,  indeed,  there  still  remains 
much  for  which  to  wish  and  to  strive,  though  there  are  yet  consid- 
erable gaps  to  be  filled  and  failings  to  be  mended,  though  great 
progress  is  often  checked  by  the  indolence  of  individual  cantons,  or 
the  flagging  of  the  spirit  of  the  age,  yet  the  educational  system  of 
Switzerland  has  often  met  with  due  recognition. 
*The  vote  was  318 139  to  172,010. 


58*  SWITZERLAND 

1874-1910 

In  certain  sciences  and  branches  of  literature  excellent  results 
have  been  achieved.  Since  the  year  1830  Switzerland  has  produced 
a  succession  of  learned  men  and  poets  whose  fame  has  spread  far 
beyond  the  borders  of  their  own  land,  such  as  the  theologians, 
Alexander  Schweizer,  J.  C.  Biedermann,  and  K,  Hagenbach;  the 
learned  chaplain,  P.  Gall  Morell;  the  natural  historians,  Merian, 
Studer,  Escher,  Desor,  and  Oswald  Heer;  the  philologist,  Orelli; 
the  professor  of  constitutional  law,  J.  C.  Bluntschli ;  the  antiquarian, 
Ferd.  Keller;  the  poets,  Jeremiah  Gotthelf,  Konrad  Ferd.  Meyer, 
and  Gottfried  Keller.  For  the  cultivation  and  extension  of  learn- 
ing numerous  clubs,  reading  societies,  scientific,  popular,  and 
juvenile,  were  formed.  The  library  movement  was  active,  and  by 
1868   the  number  of  public  libraries  had  risen  to  nearly  3000. 

This  intellectual  transformation  called  into  existence  a  corre- 
sponding improvement  in  the  comforts  of  life  and  in  material  cul- 
ture. The  towns  underwent  a  change  in  accordance  with  modern 
tastes  and  requirements.  From  about  the  year  1830  the  fortifications, 
mediaeval  walls,  towers,  and  gates  were  gradually  abolished,  and  old 
quarters  pulled  down  and  newly  built.  There  arose  everywhere 
fine  broad  streets,  bordered  by  tasteful  buildings ;  handsome  school- 
houses,  churches,  town  halls,  and  museums  were  erected;  magnifi- 
cent hotels,  fitted  with  every  comfort,  fine  promenades  and  quays, 
monuments  and  statues  became  the  ornaments  of  modern  towns. 

A  feature  of  Swiss  political  history  since  1874  has  been  the 
extension  of  the  principle  of  direct  rule  of  the  people.  Switzer- 
land has  probably  advanced  farther  in  the  direction  of  those 
democratic  institutions  designed  to  insure  order  and  liberty  and  to 
prevent  shameful  despotism  in  government  than  any  other  country. 
The  purely  representative  system  has  been  almost  wholly  abolished. 
The  fundamental  principle  in  recent  political  experiments  in 
Switzerland  is  that  the  people  shall  exercise  a  direct  and  effective 
control.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  Swiss  seem  to  have  discovered 
about  the  only  political  tools  enabling  the  people  successfully  to 
maintain  an  actual  check  on  the  politician.  The  two  unique  and 
distinguishing  features  of  the  Swiss  Government  are  the  absence 
of  the  party  system  and  the  direct  intervention  of  the  people  in  law- 
making by  means  of  the  Referendum  and  the  Initiative.  The 
formula,  "  the  people  exercise  the  law-making  power  with  the 
assistance  of  the  state  legislature,"  expresses  the  Swiss  practice, 
which  is  the  reverse  of  the  order  elsewhere. 


CENTRALIZATION    AND     SOCIALISM    686 

The  Federal  Council,  a  sort  of  an  irresponsible  cabinet  chosen 
by  the  chambers,  is  made  up  of  persons  of  different  political 
views.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  members  to  oppose  one  another 
openly  in  the  Federal  Assembly.  Representatives  of  the  several 
parties  find  places  in  the  executive  department,  though  usually  the 
Radicals  and  Liberal-Conservatives  dominate.  The  Federal  Coun- 
cil is  in  no  sense  a  responsible  cabinet,  obliged  to  stand  before 
the  country  for  a  distinct  policy,  and  expected  to  resign  collectively 
if  that  policy  meets  with  defeat.  Whatever  the  politics  of  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Federal  Council  each  one  is  elected  to  carry  out  within 
his  own  departntent  the  will  of  the  Federal  Assembly.  Another 
important  result  of  the  non-party  character  of  the  Federal  execu- 
tive is  for  its  membership  to  become  permanent.  Only  twice  since 
1848  have  Councilors  willing  to  serve  failed  of  reelection.  In  a 
similar  manner  there  is  a  lack  of  any  strong  party  spirit  in  the 
elections  of  members  to  the  Federal  Assembly.  No  great  agita- 
tion precedes  elections,  as  in  the  United  States.  In  1887  only  forty 
per  cent,  of  the  seats  were  contested.  In  the  elections  of  1896,  out 
of  the  160  members  in  the  National  Council  there  were  only  25  new 
ones,  and  in  the  Council  of  States  only  8  new  ones.  Between  1888 
and  1896  the  National  Council  has  only  lost  20  of  its  members  by 
non-reelection,  while  62  retired  voluntarily.  M.  Borgeaud  has 
expressed  the  motives  which  influence  the  average  Swiss  elector  in 
the  following  manner :  "  If  the  candidate  is  obliging  and  affable,  and 
if  he  is  a  neighbor  and  decent  fellow  generally,  and  if  he  belongs  to 
the  party  from  which  the  elector  has  been  in  a  habit  of  choosing, 
then  the  elector  argues  thus :  Would  it  not  be  an  undeserved  re- 
proach to  turn  X  out?  His  opinions  may  be  different  from  my 
own;  well!  what  of  that?  If  he  does  it  again,  one  can  always 
say.  No."  The  legislator  whose  bill  is  rejected  by  the  people  is 
not  discredited.  He  is  simply  in  the  position  of  a  deputy  whose 
bill  has  not  passed.  His  employer  is  of  a  different  opinion  and 
sends  it  back  to  be  altered. 

The  Referendum  when  introduced  into  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion in  1874  was  most  strenuously  supported  by  the  Radicals  and 
equally  strongly  opposed  by  the  Conservatives,  who  regarded  it  as 
the  triumph  of  revolutionary  principles.  Curiously  enough  in  the 
thirty  years'  practice  it  has  shown  itself  adverse  to  centralization, 
to  strong  Federal  power,  and  to  heavy  outlays — that  is,  hostile  to  a 
radical  policy — and  has  played  directly  into  the  hands  of  the  Con- 


586  SWITZERLAND 

1874-1910 

servatives.  It  is  a  strange  fact  that  the  same  constituency  which 
persistently  elects  Radical  members  to  the  Federal  Assembly  as 
persistently  rejects  all  that  they  propose.  It  is  an  excellent  sign 
that  from  sixty-six  to  eighty-eight  per  cent,  of  the  population  take 
advantage  of  their  right  to  vote  upon  the  appeal  by  the  Referen- 
dum. A  few  radical  measures,  like  the  factory  act,  the  alcohol 
monopoly,  and  the  amendment  on  the  compulsory  insurance  of 
workmen,  have  been  approved  by  the  people,  but  more  so-called 
socialistic  proposals,  as  the  law  on  epidemics,  on  education,  on  the 
state  bank,  amendments  for  legislation  on  trades  and  for  a  match 
monopoly,  have  been  defeated  at  the  polls.  The  fact  is  the  people 
are  more  conservative  than  their  representatives.  Swiss  exper- 
ience indicates  that  a  law  to  be  approved  must  not  be  too  general 
or  complicated,  and  that  if  it  is  prodigal  of  national  money  it  will 
be  rejected.  The  Swiss  are  economical  in  government  and  illiberal 
in  salaries  to  their  public  servants.  Prejudice  plays  a  large  part  in 
determining  whether  a  law  will  be  accepted  or  rejected.  If  a 
measure  is  centralizing  in  its  effect  it  will  meet  with  opposition.  If 
foreign  journals  recommend  a  measure  it  will  be  almost  sure  to  be 
lost  The  conservative  results  of  the  Referendum  have  been 
variously  attributed.  Doubtless  the  opponents  of  a  law  go  to  the 
polls  in  much  greater  numbers  than  the  supporters.  Two  facts 
may  be  noted  in  examing  the  results  of  the  Referendum.  The 
first  is  the  attachment  of  the  cantons  to  their  independence,  which 
they  regard  as  an  historical  right;  and  the  second  is  a  dislike  for 
all  expenses  for  which  the  people  do  not  see  the  immediate  utility. 
"  The  Referendum  has  made  the  people  conservative,"  one  writer 
says,  "  and  it  has  often  made  laws  fail  which  are  very  strongly  sup- 
ported and  very  cleverly  defended.  It  is  sufficient  on  these  occa- 
sions for  the  different  minorities  to  unite  at  the  polls  in  order  to 
obtain  a  compact  and  decisive  majority."  Stiissi  sums  up  in  his 
monograph  on  the  Referendum  in  Ziirich  from  1869  to  1885  the 
results  of  cantonal  experience  as  follows :  "  All  the  laws  useful  to 
the  cantons  have  been  accepted,  even  those  which  demanded  con- 
siderable money  sacrifices  from  the  people.  No  law  which  would 
have  really  advanced  either  moral  or  material  progress  has  been 
definitely  laid  aside.  In  those  rare  causes  which  seem  to  contradict 
this  conclusion  the  Referendum  has  simply  displayed  its  inherent 
ultra-conservative  character,  and  delayed  an  advance  which  would 
seem  to  most  too  rapid."     It  is  apparent  that  the  tendency  to 


I 


CENTRALIZATION     AND    SOCIALISM    587 

1874-1910 

reject  measures  that  are  in  any  way  radical  is  more  noticeable  in 
the  cantons  than  in  the  Confederation. 

An  event  of  great  importance  in  the  development  of  direct 
democratic  government  in  Switzerland  was  that  of  July  5,  189 1, 
when  the  pyeople  adopted  a  constitutional  amendment  establishing 
the  popular  Initiative  in  legislation  on  constitutional  subjects. 
The  idea  was  not  new,  having  prevailed  in  several  of  the  cantons. 
By  the  act  of  1891  if  50,000  citizens  request  the  amendment  of  the 
constitution  in  a  particular  manner,  the  Federal  Assembly  must 
act  upon  the  subject.  The  petition  may  present  the  proposal  in 
general  terms  or  in  the  form  of  a  bill  already  drafted.  In  the 
former  case  an  Assembly  in  sympathy  will  draw  up  a  bill  incor- 
porating the  proposed  change  and  submit  it  to  the  people  by  Refer- 
endum; an  Assembly  hostile  to  the  amendment  petitioned  will 
merely  submit  the  question  as  to  whether  the  constitution  shall  be 
revised,  and,  if  adopted  by  the  people,  work  out  the  amendment 
afterward.  In  the  other  case  where  the  formulated  article  is  pre- 
sented in  the  petition  the  Assembly  may  submit  it  as  it  stands  or 
may  submit  along  with  it  a  modified  draft  or  a  counter  measure  to 
a  popular  Referendum.  The  legislature  must  act  within  one  year 
from  the  receipt  of  the  petition.  In  case  the  Assembly  does  not  act 
within  that  period,  the  Federal  Council  must  submit  the  amend- 
ment petitioned.  The  Initiative  in  Federal  matters  applies  only  to 
constitutional  amendments,  and  not  to  statute  law,  as  it  does  in  the 
cantons. 

Since  1891  several  attempts  have  been  made  to  amend  the 
constitution  in  this  way,  but  the  Slaughter  Act  of  1893  has  been 
the  only  successful  one.  The  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty 
to  Animals  started  an  agitation  in  favor  of  prohibiting  the  Jewish 
manner  of  slaughtering  animals  for  food  by  bleeding  them  before 
they  are  dead.  The  diets  of  several  cantons  responded  with  laws 
forbiding  this  form  of  slaughter.  The  question  came  into  Federal 
politics  through  the  appeal  of  the  Jews  for  protection  in  their  re- 
ligious liberties.  Race  prejudices  were  easily  aroused.  The  so- 
ciety having  secured  the  necessary  number  of  signatures  for  the 
Initiative,  petitioned  for  a  constitutional  amendment  prohibiting 
the  Talmudic  rules  for  butchering.  The  amendment  to  the  con- 
stitution was  carried  at  a  Referendum  August  20,  1893,  by  a  vote 
of  191,527  to  127,000. 

Recent  efforts  to  further  popularize  the  government  of  Switzer- 


588 


SWITZERLAND 


1874-1910 

land  received  a  striking  setback  at  the  hands  of  the  people  through 
the  Referendum.  Two  amendments  to  the  constitution  passed  the 
Chambers,  one  for  the  election  of  members  of  the  Federal  Council 
by  the  people  at  large  in  place  of  the  present  choice  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  another  for  proportionate  representation  in  the  National 
Council,  to  be  rejected  by  a  Referendum,  November  4,  1900,  by 
large  majorities,  the  former  by  a  vote  of  266,637  to  141,851,  and 
the  latter  by  242,448  to  166,065.  The  defeat  was  the  more  striking 
because  of  the  united  support  given  them  by  Liberals,  Radicals,  and 
Socialists,  and  the  extended  agitation  in  their  behalf,  reaching  back 
ten  years.  Proportionate  representation  already  exists,  however,  in 
the  local  legislatures  in  five  of  the  cantons  and  two  of  the  large  cities 
of  Switzerland.  The  Swiss  believe  that  representative  democracy 
is  a  form  of  government  which  is  doomed  to  disappear.  It  is 
their  theory  that  the  people  should  no  longer  delegate  their  sover- 
eignty to  elected  representatives,  but  exercise  it  directly  them- 
selves. The  Landsgemeinde  most  nearly  realizes  their  ideal. 
This  is  folk-mote  government.  The  Landsgemeinde  is  a  mass 
meeting  of  all  the  male  citizens  of  a  district  assembled  to  choose 
the  permanent  officials  of  the  district  and  to  make  its  laws.  The 
powers  of  the  Landsgemeinde  usually  cover  the  following  sub- 
jects: partial  as  well  as  total  revision  of  the  Constitution,  enact- 
ment of  laws,  imposition  of  direct  taxes,  incurrence  of  state  debts, 
alienation  of  public  domain,  the  granting  of  public  privileges, 
admission  of  foreigners  into  state  citizenship,  establishing  of  new 
offices  and  the  regulation  of  salaries,  and  election  of  cantonal 
executive  and  judicial  offices.  It  is  in  form  and  function  the  tribal 
council  of  Tacitus  resurrected.  This  type  of  government  exists  in 
six  cantons,  but  is  entirely  unsuited  to  a  large  district  or  state.  The 
Referendum  is,  on  the  other  hand,  practicable  in  a  large  city  or  state. 
But  because  a  political  institution  works  well  in  Switzerland  is  no 
evidence  that  the  same  institution  would  work  in  other  states. 
Switzerland  does  not  have,  for  example,  several  of  the  most  serious 
problems  which  the  United  States  must  face.  It  does  not  have 
the  problem  of  poverty.  It  has  no  very  rich,  the  capitalists,  nor 
any  very  poor,  the  paupers.  It  does  not  have  the  continual  influx 
of  foreigners  difficult  to  assimilate.  There  are  no  great  unde- 
veloped regions  to  be  opened — ^fields  which  arouse  to  the  highest 
pitch  all  the  gambling  instincts  of  the  people.  It  has  not  the 
discouraging  problem  of  the  great  city.      Accordirig  to  the  census 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    689 

1874-I910 

of  1904  the  population  of  each  of  the  four  large  cities  of  Switzer- 
land was  as  follows:  Zurich,  169,410;  Basle,  120,897;  Geneva, 
110,954;  Berne,  68,958. 

Beginning  with  the  sixteenth  century,  Switzerland  has  pur- 
sued a  policy  of  neutrality.  Geographical  isolation  has  largely 
determined  this  course.  The  Congress  of  Vienna  joined  in  181 5  in 
protecting  this  voluntarily  assumed  status  by  a  convention  for  the 
neutralization  of  Switzerland.  Switzerland  has  not,  on  the  other 
hand,  left  its  own  neutrality  to  be  dependent  on  the  good  will  of 
other  nations.  An  elaborate  system  of  military  defense  has  been 
constructed.  Heavy  fortifications  stand  at  the  strategic  points  of 
the  frontier,  and  a  thoroughly  organized,  well-trained  militia  is 
always  ready  for  service.  The  Confederation  possesses  no  large 
standing  army  in  time  of  peace,  and  yet  it  might  put  more  than 
500,000  men  into  the  field  at  a  moment's  notice. 

Since  1871  Switzerland  has  had  no  occasion  to  assert  its  neu- 
trality by  armed  force,  but  the  right  of  asylum  has  been  the  cause 
of  repeated  friction  with  other  powers.  The  Swiss  regard  the 
right  to  offer  asylum  to  the  oppressed  of  other  lands  as  one  of  their 
most  precious  privileges.  A  beautiful  humanitarian  stand  taken 
by  the  Swiss  is  this  "  Right  of  Asylum,"  comparable  only  to  the 
long  period  of  unrestricted  immigration  which  the  United  States 
has  so  hospitably  allowed.  Unfortunately  at  times  Swiss  hospital- 
ity has  been  sadly  abused.  Within  recent  years  refractory  foreign 
elements  have  endangered  the  neutrality,  even  the  very  independ- 
ence of  the  state.  After  the  murder  of  Czar  Alexander  II.  at  St. 
Petersburg  in  1881  earnest  efforts  were  made  by  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment to  induce  Switzerland  to  curtail  the  right  of  asylum  which 
it  had  extended  to  Russian  Nihilists,  many  of  whom  resided  in 
Geneva,  Zurich,  and  Basle.  Foreign  representations  that  the  plot 
had  originated  in  Switzerland,  supplemented  by  pressure  from  the 
Swiss  people,  who  had  no  sympathy  with  the  criminal  outrages  of 
the  Nihilists,  led  the  Federal  Council  to  enter  upon  a  restrictive 
policy.  There  was  a  genuine  fear  that  the  independence  of  Switz- 
erland was  endangered  through  the  socialistic  attitude  of  the 
radical  elements.  An  attempt  of  the  Socialists  of  Europe  to  hold 
a  great  congress  at  Zurich  on  September  2,  1881,  was  suppressed 
by  the  cantonal  authorities.  The  Russian  agitator  Kuropatkin 
was  sent  from  the  country.  During  the  summer  of  1884  several 
more  anarchists  seeking  asylum  in  Switzerland  were  arrested  for 


590  SWITZERLAND 

*  1874-1910 

Spreading  revolutionary  literature,  some  imprisoned  for  a  short 
period,  most  of  them  acquitted,  and  three  of  them,  an  Austrian 
and  two  Germans,  were  expelled  from  the  country.  More  expul- 
sions followed  in  1885.  One  authority  estimated  that  there  were 
1500  foreign  anarchists  in  Switzerland  in  that  year.  Vigorous 
efforts  were  made  by  the  Federal  Council  to  rid  the  Confederation 
of  these  foreign  revolutionists.  The  German  Government  during 
the  same  period  brought  pressure  to  bear  on  Switzerland  to  secure 
the  suppression  of  the  German  Socialists,  refugees  in  that  land, 
and  finally  in  1888  a  political  police  was  provided  to  prevent  the 
abuse  of  the  right  of  asylum.  Councilor  Droz  said  in  defense  of 
the  bill  that  "  the  majority  of  the  Swiss  people  are  determined  that 
our  house  shall  be  respected  by  all  who  dwell  in  it.  The  air  we 
breath  is  the  air  of  healthy  liberty.  We  will  not  allow  it  to  be 
vitiated  by  the  miasma  of  anarchism.  Neither  shall  our  house  be 
a  refuge  whence  assaults  can  be  directed  with  impunity  against  the 
repose  of  other  countries."  Nevertheless,  Germany  became  in- 
volved in  a  conflict  with  Switzerland,  owing  to  the  practice  of  the 
German  authorities  of  maintaining  a  special  police  in  Switzerland 
to  watch  the  revolutionary  Socialists.  Wohlgemuth,  a  German  police 
officer,  was  sent  into  Switzerland  during  the  summer  of  1889  to 
stir  up  the  anarchists  resident  there  to  open  deeds  of  violence,  to 
the  end  that  the  latter  might  be  detected  and  arrested.  The  Swiss 
promptly  imprisoned  Wohlgemuth  on  the  charge  of  inciting  to  a 
breach  of  peace,  and  later  politely  conducted  him  to  the  frontier. 
Germany,  still  under  the  iron  hand  of  Bismarck,  protested  and 
demanded  that  no  hindrances  should  be  placed  in  the  way  of  the 
German  secret  agents.  Russia  and  Austria  joined  with  Germany 
in  representing  that  unless  Switzerland  furnished  the  necessary 
safeguards  against  those  threatening  the  peace  of  Europe,  they 
would  regard  the  neutrality  guarantee  as  no  longer  in  their  inter- 
ests. This  threat  drew  out  from  Switzerland  positive  refusal  to 
consider  the  subject  of  its  internal  order  by  diplomatic  discussion, 
but  at  the  same  time  the  Swiss  police  system  was  strengthened  to 
meet  the  need  of  a  guard  against  foreign  agitators.  The  question 
at  issue  with  Germany  was  finally  settled  in  1890,  but  the  ill-will 
between  Germany  and  Switzerland  excited  during  the  heated  news- 
paper war  has  not  been  entirely  destroyed  as  yet. 

The  geographical  situation  and  the  permanent  neutrality  of 
Switzerland  has  especially  marked  it  out  to  take  an  important  role 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    691 

1874-1910 

in  international  relations.  It  has  become  the  natural  agent  of  the 
other  powers.  Its  capital,  Berne,  has  become  in  a  measure  the 
capital  of  United  Europe.  Since  the  Geneva  convention  of  1864 
Switzerland  has  been  the  meeting-ground  for  international  con- 
gresses and  the  home  of  several  important  permanent  bureaus, 
great  central  bureaus  destined  to  be  great  links  to  bind  Europe  and 
the  world  into  one  harmonious  world-state. 

The  oldest  of  these  bureaus  is  that  relating  to  telegraphs, 
which  was  established  in  1865.  The  bureau  coordinates  and  pub- 
lishes information  of  every  kind  relating  to  international  teleg- 
raphy, acts  as  a  sort  of  intelligence  department  for  the  telegraph 
systems  of  the  world,  and  executes  the  working  agreement  between 
forty-six  countries  in  the  matter  of  international  telegraph  rates.  At 
a  great  international  postal  congress  held  at  Berne  in  1874  an 
international  board  was  created,  with  a  permanent  seat  in  that  city. 
By  the  convention  agreed  to  at  this  session  the  international  postal 
bureau  must  be  supported  by  contributions  graduated  roughly  from 
the  postal  traffic  and  rank  of  the  states  which  are  members  of  the 
union;  the  total  expenses  must  not  exceed  3000/.  a  year  ($15,000). 
This  bureau  serves  as  a  clearing-house  between  the  several  state 
postal  administrations ;  it  settles  disputed  questions  which  arise  and 
acts  as  an  arbitral  judge  in  litigations  between  the  various  countries 
in  the  Postal  Union.  A  third  bureau  developed  from  a  convention  in 
which  sixteen  states  united  to  protect  trade-marks  and  patents,  in 
1885.  A  supplementary  protocol  of  1886  extended  the  convention 
to  copyrights.  Switzerland  assumed  responsibility  for  the  manage- 
ment of  the  central  administration,  and  the  joint  bureau  on  indus- 
trial and  literary  property  was  located  with  the  others  at  Berne.  The 
last  of  these  great  organizations  was  the  International  Railway 
Bureau,  established  in  1893.  Ten  states  of  Central  Europe  are 
parties  to  the  convention  which  gave  origin  to  the  railway  bureau. 
It  deals  only  with  freight  traffic,  though  Russia  has  recently  pro- 
posed that  the  passenger  traffic  be  also  placed  under  its  jurisdiction. 
The  international  railway  convention  unites  all  the  railroads  belong- 
ing to  it  in  one  network  under  a  common  tariff  as  regards  inter- 
national transportation.  The  bureau  serves  as  an  international 
arbitration  court  for  disputes  in  international  railroad  traffic,  and  in 
common  with  the  other  bureaus  as  a  bureau  of  information  and  pub- 
lication upon  the  affairs  of  its  own  peculiar  province. 

Besides   these  permanent   organizations   of  an   international 


692  SWITZERLAND 

1874-1910 

character  and  based  on  conventions  between  great  powers,  two 
societies,  with  more  or  less  temporary  objects  have  located  their 
central  offices  on  Swiss  soil.  In  August,  1891,  the  Peace  Congress, 
working  in  behalf  of  permanent  international  peace,  held  its  meet- 
ings at  Berne,  and  established  a  bureau.  The  following  year,  from 
from  August  29  to  August  31,  1892,  a  session  of  the  Inter-Parlia- 
mentary Conference  sat  at  Berne.  The  conference  met  to  consider 
methods  of  promoting  peace  by  arbitration,  and  ended  its  session  by 
establishing  an  International  Arbitration  Court  as  a  sort  of  an  execu- 
tive body  for  the  conference,  with  a  permanent  seat  at  Berne,  where 
its  records  shall  be  kept  Swiss  laborers  initiated  an  International 
Congress  in  1897  for  the  protection  of  labor.  A  total  of  375 
delegates  met  at  Zurich  in  debate  over  labor  questions — the  number 
of  hours,  the  status  of  women  working  in  large  industries,  and  the 
protection  of  labor.  The  congress  requested  the  governments  of 
Europe  to  establish  an  international  office  of  labor.  More  and 
more  European  states  are  finding  it  convenient  to  hold  great  inter- 
national gatherings  on  Swiss  soil,  and  Switzerland  by  virtue  of  its 
neutralization,  of  its  central  location,  of  the  cosmopolitan  character 
of  its  people,  and  the  high  intelligence  of  its  leaders,  has  become 
a  most  fitting  agent  for  the  numerous  international  undertakings 
where  uniformity  of  administration  is  highly  important. 

The  Swiss  deserve  this  international  preeminence  and  its  do- 
mestic quiet  and  prosperity.  Better  than  any  other  people  they 
have  observed  the  civilizing  law  of  work.  Switzerland  is  all  ac- 
tivity. Thrift  marks  every  home.  The  tranquillity  which  Switz- 
erland has  enjoyed  since  1848,  the  free  institutions  in  the  interior, 
the  diligence  and  enterprise  of  the  people,  have  acted  as  powerful 
levers  upon  industrial  life.  Certain  branches  of  activity,  such  as 
the  cotton  and  silk  industry,  the  art  of  watchmaking,  the  making  of 
machinery,  straw-plaiting,  and  wood-carving,  have  attained  inter- 
national importance,  and  grown  to  be  chief  sources  of  the  national 
wealth.  Industry  has  increased  and  spread  even  into  the  moun- 
tainous regions  as  far  as  the  highest  villages  in  the  Alps,  where 
often  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains  one  may  catch  sight  of  a  fac- 
tory worked  by  water-power,  or  see  looms  in  motion.  The  water- 
power  of  Switzerland  which  is  already  available  is  estimated  at 
more  than  500,000  horse-power.  Throughout  the  country  the 
rivers  are  being  made  to  turn  great  dynamos  to  light  the  cities 
and  distribute  power  to  thriving  industries.     The  Swiss  people  no 


CENTRALIZATION     AND     SOCIALISM    698 

1874-1910 

longer  consist  merely  of  shepherds,  peasants,  and  a  very  small  num- 
ber of  tradespeople,  but  are  becoming  more  and  more  an  indus- 
trial people,  willing  to  enter  into  competition  with  other  lands.  At 
the  great  international  exhibitions  in  London,  Paris,  and  St.  Louis, 
Switzerland  has  obtained  high  recognition.  The  two  national  exposi- 
tions, that  of  Zurich  in  1883  and  that  of  Geneva  in  1896,  have 
shown  more  thoroughly  the  industrial  resources  of  the  country. 
The  Swiss  have  sought  and  found  purchasers  for  the  products  of 
their  industry  in  all  lands,  even  in  the  most  remote  parts  beyond  the 
seas.  Commerical  treaties  have  been  concluded  with  all  important 
civilized  states,  not  only  of  Europe,  but  also  of  other  continents, 
America,  Australia,  the  East  Indies,  and  even  with  China  and 
Japan  (1868). 

If  a  distinct  falling  off  is  at  times  observable  in  certain 
spheres  of  industry,  it  may  serve  to  remind  her  people  with  what 
difficulties  Switzerland  has  to  contend  in  competition  with  her 
powerful  neighbors,  and  to  incite  them  to  redoubled  zeal.  Switzer- 
land, small  and  by  nature  sparingly  endowed,  surrounded  by  large 
and  wealthy  states  by  which  she  is  almost  stifled,  can  only  keep 
that  which  she  has  already  acquired,  and  only  attain  to  that 
which  remains  to  be  achieved  in  her  institutions,  her  culture, 
and  her  military  system,  by  all  her  members  and  all  her  citizens 
being  equally  imbued  with  a  sense  of  the  high  and  holy  responsi- 
bilities laid  upon  them  by  their  fatherland  and  its  history. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Monuments  and  antiquities,  which  in  the  early  periods  are  often  the  main 
resource  of  the  historian,  have  only  a  secondary  interest  for  the  general 
reader.  Chronicles  and  similar  early  written  records  make  a  hardly  greater 
appeal.  Accordingly  the  bibliographies  appended  are  purposely  limited  to 
the  chief  modern  literature  concerning  each  country,  and  of  this,  for  the 
most  part,  only  the  easily  accessible  books  are  itemized.  Brief  memoranda 
are  given  in  most  cases,  sufficient  to  indicate  the  character  or  special  value 
of  the  work  considered. 


HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM 

Amicis,  Edmond  d'. — "Holland."    2  vols.    London,  1883. 

This  work  by  the  well-known  Italian  writer  of  travels  will  be  found  among 

the  best  of  its  class,  recording  true  and  vivid  impressions  of  the  country 

and  people. 
Bernard,  F. — "La  Hollande,  Geographique,  Ethnologique,  etc."    Paris,  190a 

A  comprehensive,  generally  descriptive  work. 
Blok,  P.  J. — "  History  of  the  People  of  the  Netherlands."    English  translation. 
First  4  vols.    New  York,  1898-1900. 

This  work  is   one  of  the  most  thorough   and  scholarly  histories  of  the 

Netherlands.    The  fourth  volume  brings  the  account  up  to  1648. 
Bonaparte,  Louis. — "Historical  Documents  and  Reflections  in  the  Government 
of  Holland."    3  vols.    London.  1820. 

Interesting  to  the  student. 
Boulger,  Demetrius  C— "  The  History  of  Belgium."  Pt  L    London,  190a. 
Butler,  Chas. — "Life  of  Hugo  Grotius."    London,  1826. 

This  biography  of  the  celebrated  Dutch  jurist  of  the  seventeenth  century, 

the  founder  of  the  science  of  international  law,  a£Fords  a  closer  view  of  the 

times  and  conditions  of  which  he  was  a  part 
Davies,  C.  M. — "  History  of  Holland  and  the  Dutch  Nation."    3  vols.    London, 
1851. 

As  a  continuous  history  this  still  ranks  among  the  most  important  works 

on  Holland,  though  not  of  the  highest  intrinsic  value. 
Gachard   (ed.).—"  Correspondance  de  Guillaume  d' Orange."    6  vols.     Brussels, 

1847-1866. 
"  Correspondance  de  Marguerite  d'Autriche  et  Philippe  II."    3  vols.    Brus- 
sels, 1867-1881. 

Letters  of  personages  so  important  gfive  splendid  material  to  the  historian  or 

historical  student.    Unfortunately  each  of  these  collections  is  accessible  only 

in  the  French  as  yet. 
Gerlache,  E.  C.  de.—"  Histoire  du  royaume  des  Pays  Bas,  1814-1839."    3  vols. 
Brussels,  1859. 


598  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Griffis,  William  E.—"  Brave  Little  Holland."    Boston,  1903. 

One  of  the  most  universally  acceptable  little  books,  characterized  by  sympa- 
thetic treatment  and  calculated  to  inspire  enthusiasm  for  the  Dutch  in  history. 

It  is  distinctly  "  popular "  in  style. 
Hare,  A.  J.  C. — •"  Sketches  in  Holland  and  Scandinavia."    London,  1885. 

Descriptive  in  style  and  very  readable. 
Harrison,  Frederick. — "  William  the  Silent."    London,  1897. 

Another  biography  with  important  historic  bearing. 
Havard,  H.— "  In  the  Heart  of  Holland."   London,  1880. 

English  translation  of  a  delightfully  descriptive  book. 
Henne,  Alexander. — "  Histoire  du  regne  de  Charles  V.  en  Belgique."    10  vols. 
Brussels,  1858. 

Accessible  only  in  French.    Chiefly  valuable  for  reference,  as  the  work  is 

obviously  too  voluminous  for  the  purposes  of  the  average  reader. 
Hough,  P.  M. — "  Dutch  Life  in  Town  and  Country."     New  York,  1901. 

Like  all  of  the  volumes  in  the  unique  "  Town  and  Country "  series,  this 

volume  is  valuable  as  well  as  entertaining  in  its  descriptions. 
Juste,  Theodore. — "Leopold  I.  et  Leopold  IL"    Brussels,  1879. 

Important  for  its  side-lights  on  the  history  of  the  Belgians. 
Markham,  Sir  Clement. — "The  Fighting  Veres."    Boston,  1888. 

Lives  of  two  English  generals  in  the  Netherlands  during  the  war  with  Spain. 
Maxwell,  Sir  William  Stirling. — "  Don  John  of  Austria."    2  vols.    London,  1883. 

Passages  from  the  history  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Mets,  J.  A.—"  Naval  Heroes  of  Holland."    New  York,  1902. 

A  worthy  treatment  of  an  inspiring  theme. 
Motley,  John  Lothrop. — "Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic."     3  vols.     New  York, 
1856. 

Famous  as  literature  as  well  as  history.    A  splendid  picture  of  a  dramatic 

period, — though  admittedly  one-sided  in  its  enthusiasm.     Prescott's  "  Philip 

II."  offers  excellent  comparison  from  the  Spanish  point  of  view. 
"  History  of  the  United  Netherlands."    4  vols.     New  York,  1861-1868. 

More  controversial  in  treatment  and  less  dramatic  in  subject  than  Motley's 

previous  work.    Distinctly  anti-Catholic  in  sympathy. 
"  Life  of  John  of  Barneveld."    2  vols.    New  York,  1875. 

Deals  with  the  period  of  the  Twelve  Years'  Truce.    Graphic  and  interesting, 

but  noticeably  less  brilliant  than  the  earlier  works. 
— -"  Correspondence."    Edited  by  George  William  Curtis.    2  vols.    New  York, 
1889. 

In  Motley's  letters  will  be  found  much  bearing  on  the  later  political  history 

of  Holland. 
Pirenne,  VLtm'i.—"  Histoire  de  Belgique."    Vols.  I  and  II.    Brussels,  1902-1903- 

Recently  published  and  still  to  be  read  only  in  the  French. 
Pontalis,  Antonin. — "John  de  Witte."  Translated  from  the  French  by  S.  E,  and 
A.  Stephenson.    2  vols.    London,  1885. 

Another  valuable  biography. 
Putnam,  Ruth.— "  William  the  Silent,  Prince  of  Orange."    2  vols.    New  York, 

1895. 
This  life  of  the  founder  of  the  Republic  of  the  United  Netherlands  will  hardly 
be  overlooked  even  by  the  general  reader. 
Rogers,  J.  E.  T.— "Holland"  ("  Story  of  the  Nations"  series).    London,  1886. 
A  good,  readable,  one  volume  account 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  099 

Schiller,  Johann  Christoph  Friedrich  von.— "The  Revolt  of  the  Netherlands." 
New  York,  1885. 

Possesses  a  classic  as  well  as  historic  interest. 
Seignobos,  C — "  Political  History  of  Europe."    London,  1900. 

This  always  valuable  work  will  be  found  worth  consulting. 
Strada,  Famian. — "  The  History  of  the  Low  Countrey  Warres."    London,  1667. 

An  English  translation  of  the  first  part  of  this  famous  old  work. 
Temple,  Sir  William. — "  Letters."    London,  1699. 

Letters  from  Sir  William  while  ambassador  at  The  Hague. 
Traill,  Henry  Duff.—"  William  HL"    New  York,  1888. 
Trevor,  Arthur. — "  Life  of  William  HI."    2  vols.    London,  1835. 
Van  Meteren,  Emanuel. — "  Historien  der  Nederlanden."    Amsterdam,  1663. 
Wenzelhuger,  K.  T. — "  Geschichte  der  Niederlande."    2  vols.    Gotha,  1879- 1886. 
Ybung,  Alexander. — "  History  of  the  Netherlands."    Boston,  1887. 

Deals  chiefly  with  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries;  popular  in  style. 

SWITZERLAND 

Adams,  Sir  F.  O.,  and  Cunningham,  C.  D. — "  The  Swiss  Confederation."    1889. 

Important  to  consult  on  the  government  of  Switzerland.    Not  a  detailed  his- 
tory, but  covers  the  seven  phases  of  the  Confederation  from  its  origin  in 

1291  to  the  constitutions  of  1848  and  1874. 
Baker,  Grenfell.— "  The  Model  Republic."    London,  1895. 

As  its  sub-title  indicates,  this  is  a  consecutive  narrative  history  of  the  rise 

and  progress  of  the  Swiss  people. 
Conway,  Sir  W.  M.— "The  Alps  from  End  to  End."    London,  1895. 

Switzerland  is  not  so  rich  in  historical  as  in  descriptive  literature,  of  which 

this  attractive  volume  furnishes  a  type. 
Dawson,  W.  S. — "Social  Switzerland."    London,  1897. 

Affords  an  economic  study. 
Dent,  C  T.— "  Mountaineering."    London,  1892. 

Another  descriptive  volume. 
Forbes,  J.  D. — "  Travels  through  the  Alps."   New  edition.    London,  190a 

Descriptive  and  equally  helpful  to  the  traveler  or  interesting  to  the  fireside 

reader. 
Cribble,  F. — "Lake  Geneva  and  its  Literary  Landmarks."    London,  1901. 

A  pleasing  style  and  attractive  literary  subject  combine  to  make  this  volume 

an  unusually  companionable  one  for  bookish  readers. 
Heir,  J.  C. — "Die  Schweiz."     (In  "Land  and  Lute"  series.)     Bielfield  and 
Leipzig,  1902. 

A  valuable  recent  work. 
James,  E.  J.— "The  Federal  Constitution  of  Switzerland."    Philadelphia,  1890. 
MacCrachan,  W.  D. — "The  Rise  of  the  Swiss  Republic."    London,  1892. 

"  Romance  and  Teutonic  Switzerland."    2  vols.    Boston. 

Muller,   Monnard  and   Vulliemin. — "  Histoire  de  la  Suisse."     19  vols.     Paris, 
1837-1851. 

As  a  reference  work  this  is  indispensable  to  the  serious  student,  although 

manifestly  too  elaborate  for  the  general  reader. 
Read,    Meredith. — "  Historic    Studies    in    Vaud,    Berne    and    Savoy."     2    vols. 
London,  1897. 

A  collection  of  valuable  sketches. 


000  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Richman,  I.  B. — "  Pure  Democracy  and  Pastoral  Life  in  Inner-Rhoden."  London, 

1895. 

A  unique  and  valuable  economic  discussion, 
Sowerby,  J. — "  The  Forest  Cantons  of  Switzerland."    London,  1892. 

An  interesting  study. 
Stead,  R.,  and  Hug,  L.—" Switzerland."    ("Story  of  the   Nations"  scries.) 
London,  1890. 

A  popular  narrative  history  in  brief  compass. 
Stephen,  Leslie. — "The  Playground  of  Europe."    New  York,  1894. 

A  pleasing  subject  by  an  author  with  a  distinctive  and  engaging  style. 
Story,  A.  T. — "  Swiss  Life  in  Town  and  Country."    London,  1902. 

This  little  book  will  be  found  extremely  entertaining,  besides  offering  much 

actual  information. 
Umlauft,  F.— "  The  Alps."    Translated  by  L.  Brough.    London,  1889. 
Winchester. — "The  Swiss  Republic."    Philadelphia,  1891. 

A  good  discussion  of  Swiss  government  and  an  authority  to  be  consulted 

on  this  sigfnificant  phase  of  the  Swiss  people. 
Whymper,  E. — "  Scrambles  amongst  the  Alps,  1860-1869."  London,  1893. 
— ■"  Chamounix  and  the  Range  of  Mount  Blanc."    London,  1905. 
•— — "  Zermatt  and  the  Matterhom."    London,  1905. 

All  descriptive  works  of  exceeding  interest  and  substantial  value. 


I 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Aarau,  Diet  of  (i797),  S09 

Aarau,  Peace  of   (1712),  480 

Aarsens,  GDmelius  van :  Spanish  at- 
tempt to  bribe,  186 

Aarsens,  Francis  van :  plots  destruc- 
tion of  Barneveldt,   196 

Abercrombie,  Sir  Ralph :  his  expedi- 
tion against  the  Dutch,  267 

Abramzoom,  sumamed  Leckerbeetje: 
story  of,  176 

Abyberg,  Colonel :  his  campaign  in  the 
Revolution  of  1830,  541 

Accounting  Law   (1895),  576 

Adelaide,    Queen   of    Italy:     sketch   of, 

344 

Adolf  of  Nassau,  Holy  Roman  em- 
peror:   accession  of,  363 

Adolphus  of  Nassau :  his  campaigns  in 
the  revolution,   109 

Adolphus,  Duke  of  Guelders:  usurps 
duchy,  45 

Aerschot,  Duke  of:  member  of  Bel- 
gian   provisional    government,    297 

Aginnum   (Agen)  :  battle  of   (107  ac), 

329 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  Treaties  of:  (1668), 
478;   (1748),  256 

Alabama   Affair,   The    (1872),   563 

Albert  (I)  of  Austria,  Holy  Roman 
emperor:  death  of,  364 

Albert,  Archduke  of  Austria:  ap- 
pointed governor-general  of  the 
Netherlands,  162;  made  sovereign 
of  the  Netherlands  and  Burgundy, 
164;  marries  Isabella  of  Spain,  165 

Albert,  Prince  of  Saxe-Teschen :  re- 
called from  Belgium,  260 

Albert  of  Saxe-Meissen :  his  campaign 
in  the  Netherlands,  50;  appointed 
stadtholder    of    Friesland,    51 

Alcohol:  trade  in,  made  a  state  mon- 
opoly in  Switzerland,  578 


Alkmaar:    siege  of   (1573),   114 
Allemonde,  Admiral:    in  the  war  with 

France,  250 
Almanza:    battle  of  (1707),  251 
Alost:    siege  of   (1576),   121 
Alsace:    given  to  Burgundy,  405 
Alten,    Count    d':     policy    of,    in    Bel- 
gium, 260 
Alva,     Fernando    Alvarez    de    Toledo, 
Duke    of:     his    campaign    in    Italy, 
70;   his   campaigns   in   the   Nether- 
lands, 104;  sketch  of,  106;  death  of, 
115 
Amboyna:      captured     by     the     Dutch 
(1603),    168;   massacre  of    (1623), 
221 
Amiens:    taken   by  the   Spanish,   164 
Amiens,  Peace  of   (1802),  207,  518 
Amstalden,   Peter:     leads   revolt,  411 
Amsterdam,  Bank  of:    established,   195 
Anabaptists:    influence  of,  in  the  Neth- 
erlands, 57;   sketch  of,  91,  436 
Anastro,   Caspar:    instigates  the  assas- 
sination of  William  of  Orange,  138 
Andermatt,    General :     besieges    Zurich, 

S18 
Andrew    of   Austria,    Cardinal:    placed 
at  the  head  of  the  temporary  gov- 
ernment of  the   Netherlands,   165 
Atme,  Queen  of  Great  Britain:    prom- 
ises   aid    to    the    Dutch    Republic, 
48 
Anne,  daughter  of  George  II    of  Eng- 
land :       marries      the      Prince     of 
Orange,  264 
Anne  of  Austria:    marries  Philip  II  of 
Spain,  112;  made  regent  of  France, 
214 
Antwerp:     cathedral    of,    pillaged,   95; 
attacked    by    French    (1583),    139; 
siege    of    (1584^1585).    H7;    battle 
of    (1830),   297;    siege   of    (1832), 
302 
Anjou,    Francis,    Duke    of     (Duke    of 


603 


604 


INDEX 


AlenQon)  :  favors  the  Dutch  Prot- 
estants, 131 ;  offered  sovereignty  of 
the  United  Provinces,  134;  death 
of,  140 

Anjou,  Philip,  Duke  of:  see  Philip  V, 
King  of   Spain 

Appleton,  Captain:  in  the  war  with  the 
Dutch,  230 

Arbedo:  battle  of  (1422),  305 

Ardres:    taken  by  the   Spanish,   163 

Aremberg  (Arenberg),  John  of  Ligne, 
Count  of:    death  of,   109 

Armada,  The  Invincible:  destruction 
of,  153 

Arminius,  Jacob  (Jakobus  Harmen- 
sen)  :  leads  Anninian  movement  in 
theology,   193 

Amoul,  Duke  of  Guelders:  sells  his 
duchy  to  Charles  the  Rash  of  Bur- 
gundy, 45 

Amulf,  German  king:  defeats  the  Nor- 
mans, 21 

Arras,  Peace  of  (1435),  41 

Arschot,  Duke  of:  takes  the  new  oath 
of  allegiance,  102 

Artavelde,  Jacob  van:  leads  insurrec- 
tion of  Ghent,  33;  death  of,  34 

Artavelde,  Philip  van:  leads  insurrec- 
tion in  Ghent,  34;   death  of,  35 

Auer,   Hans:    sketch   of,   427 

Augsburg,  League  of   (1686),  243 

Austerlitz:    battle   of    (1805),   267 

Autun:    battle  of  (532  a.d.),  zZ7 

Avein:    battle   of    (1635),   212 

Avenches:  battles  of  (ca.  1190),  349; 
(1802),  518 

Avesnes,  John  d'.  Count  of  Hainault: 
becomes  Count  of  Holland,  36 

Avila,  d':  at  battle  of  the  Bay  of  Gib- 
raltar, 183 

Avila,  Sanchez  d':  his  campaign  in  the 
Netherlands,   117 

Ayscue,  Sir  George:  at  battle  of 
Plymouth,  230 


B 


Baden:    siege  of  (1400),  397 
Baden,   Peace  of    (1656),  476 
Baden  Conference,  The   (1834),  543 
Baldwin     (I)     Bras-de-fer,     Count    of 
Flanders:  marries  Judith,  20 


Baldwin    (II)    of    the    Comely    Beard, 
Count    of    Flanders:    joins    league 
against  the  emperor,  22 
Baldwin   (V)    le  Debonnaire,  Count  of 
Flanders:    aids    William    the    Con- 
queror, 25 
Baligny,  Marquis  de:  governor  of  Cam- 
bray,  162 
Balthasar,  Franz  Urs:  sketch  of,  490 
Band  of  the  Mad  Life    (1477),  410 
Barlaimont       (Barlajrmont),       Charles, 
Count  de:    sketch  of,  76;  takes  the 
new    oath    of   allegiance,    102;    op- 
poses Alva's  taxation,  no;  member 
of  governing  council  of  the  Neth- 
erlands,  120 
Bameveldt,    John    of   Olden:     opposes 
Leicester,    151,    152;    his    antipathy 
toward    Maurice   of    Saxony,    176; 
his  mission  to  England,  178;  favors 
peace    with    Spain,    185;    joins    the 
Arminians,    194;   arrest   and   death 
of,   199 
Barrier,  Treaty  of  the   (1715),  252 
Barroccio:    his  services  to  the  Spanish 

in  the  Netherlands,  147 
Bart     (Barth    or    Baert),    Jean    du: 

sketch  of,  245 
Basel:    see  Basle 
Baselland:    assumes   the  leadership   of 

the  Democrats,  565 
Basle:  insurrection  in  (1798),  509 
Basle,  Peace  of  (1499),  419 
Basle,  University  of:    founded,  428 
Batavians,  The:    form  an  alliance  with 

Caesar,  6 
Batavian   Republic:    created,  266 
Baumgartner,  Jakob:   demands  revision 

of  constitution,  536 
Bautzen:   battle  of  (1813),  272 
Bavaria,    Duke    of:     crushes    rebellions 
of    the    Count    of    Mansfeld    and 
Christian  of  Brunswick,  204 
Bayeux  Tapestry:    made,  25 
Beauvais:    siege  of  (1472),  45 
Beccaria:    preaches  in  Locarno,  456 
Beda,   Abbot  of   St   Gall:     sketch   of, 

506 
Bellinzona  (Bellenz)  :    siege  of  (1478), 

414 
Belgium,  History  of:    see  Holland  and 

Belgium,  History  of 
Belgae,  The:  at  war  with  the  Romans,  5 


INDEX 


605 


Benbow,  John:  his  campaign  against 
the  French,  250 

Bender,  Baron  Blasius  von:  his  cam- 
paign  in   Belgium,   262 

Benedictine  Order:  in  Switzerland, 
355 

Berchthold  (II)  of  Zaringen,  Duke  of 
Suabia :  made  duke,  347 

Berchthold  IV,  Duke  of  Suabia:  reign 
of,  349 

Berchthold  V,  Duke  of  Suabia:  reign 
of,  349 

Berg,  Count  of:  his  campaign  in  the 
Netherlands,  210 

Bergen,  Marquis  of:  his  mission  to 
Madrid,  90,  93;  flees  to  Germany, 
103 

Bergen-op-Zoom :  battle  of  (1573) 
116;  siege  of  (1622),  204;  battle  of 
(1799),  267 

Bergh,  Count  van  den:  joins  the  Span- 
ish, 141 

Berlin  Congress,  The   (1884- 1885),  311 

Berlin  Decree  (1806),  268 

Bernard  of  Saxe- Weimar,  Duke:  suc- 
ceeds to  command  of  army,  215 

Berne:  sieges  of  (1288),  361;  (l53S). 
447;  at  war  with  the  French,  510 

Berne,  Diet  of  (1847),  551 

Bemhard,  Duke  of  Weimar:  his  cam- 
paign in  Switzerland,  464 

Bernoulli,   Daniel:    sketch  of,  482 

Bernoulli,  Jacob:    sketch  of,  482 

Bernoulli,  Johann:    sketch  of,  482 

Bertha,  Queen  of  Burgundy:   sketch  of, 

344 
Berthelier,   Philibert:    sketch  of,  447 
Beuren,  Count  of:    see  Philip  William, 

Prince  of  Orange 
Beza,    Theodore:    teaches    in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Lausanne,  448 
Bible,    The:     translated    into    German, 

453 
Bibracte:    battle  of  (58  b.c.),  329 
Biedermann,  J.  C. :    sketch  of,  584 
Bikker,  Cornelius:    sketch  of,  226 
Birs:   battle  of  ti445).  402 
Bishops:    growth  of  their  power,  22 
Bismarck     (Bismarck  -   Schonhausen), 
Otto      Eduard      Leopold,       Prince 
von:   growth   of   the   influence    of, 
308 
Blake,  Robert:    at  the  battle  of  Dover, 


229;   in  the  war  with  the   Dutch, 

230 
Blenheim:    battle  of   (1704),  250 
Bliicher,  Gebhard  Leberecht  von:     his 

campaign   against    Napoleon,   287 
Bluntschli,  Johann   Caspar:    sketch  of, 

584 
Blood,     Council     of:      see     Troubles, 

Council  of 
Bodmer,  Johann:    sketch  of,  489 
Boer  Wars,  318 
Bois,   Peter  du:    leads  insurrection   in 

Ghent,  34 
Bois-le-duc:     battle    of     (1567),    loi; 

siege  of  (1601),  176 
Boisot,  Louis:    at  battle  of  Bcrgen-op- 

Zoom,  116 
Bokelszoon,  John:  teachings  of,  57 
Bomberg:   at  battle  of  Bois-le-duc,   loi 
Bonaparte,  Louis:    made  king  of  Hol- 
land, 267 
Bonaparte,     Napoleon:     see    Napoleon 

(I)    Bonaparte 
Boniface,  Saint,  Archbishop  of  Mainz: 

his  mission  to  the  Friscons,  15 
Bonstetten,  Albert  von:    sketch  of,  428 
Bomhauser:    urges  a  revolution  in  the 

constitution,  533 
Borromean  League  (1586),  458 
Borromeo,  Carlo,  Archbishop  of  Milan: 

his  attempted  reforms  in  Switzer- 
land, 457 
Borselen,  Vrank  van:    marries  Jacque- 
line of  Holland,  41 
Bossu,  Count:   at  battle  of  Zuyder  Zee, 

114 
Bouchain:    siege  of   (1711),  asi 
Bourn:    in  the  war  with  Dutch,  230 
Bouvines:    battle  of   (1214),  29 
Bozerg:    battle  of  (69  A.D.),  331 
Braban^on,  Duke  of:    arrested,  211 
Brabant:    suffers  from  persecutions,  77 
Bracamonte,  Gonsalvo  de:  his  campaign 

in  the   Netherlands,   109 
Brandenburg,  Peace  of  (1352),  377 
Brazil:    conquered    by   the   Dutch,   221 
Breaute:    story  of,   176 
Breda:   captured  by  Maurice  of  Orange, 

156;  sieges  of  (1625),  207;  (1637), 

212 
Breda,  Peace  of  (1667),  235 
Breda  Conference,  The   (1574),   119 
Brederode,  Henry  de.  Lord  of  Vianen 


606 


INDEX 


and  Marquis  of  Utrecht:  sketch 
of,  86;  his  banquet  to  the  confed- 
erates, 88;  at  the  DufHe  Confer- 
ence, 93;  death  of,  102 

Bregenz:    battle  of   (1408),  391 

Breitfeld :  capitulates  to  the  French 
(1798),  511 

Breitinger,  Johann:  attacks  abuses  of 
aristocracy,   475 ;    sketch   of,   489 

Briel:    captured  by  the  patriots,   113 

Briznella,  Fra  Inigo  de:  his  mission  to 
Philip  III  of  Spain,  187 

Breydel,  John :  leads  insurrection  of 
Bruges,  31 

Breze,  Urbain  de  Maille:  his  campaign 
in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  211 

Broglie,  Maurice  de:  defends  the  rights 
of   the    Catholic    Church,   292 

Bruderholz:    battle   of    (1499),  418 

Bruges,  John  of:    see  John  of  Bruges 

Brugg:    siege  of  (i444),  40i 

Brun,  Rudolf:  usurps  governorship  of 
Zurich,  375  t 

Brune,  Guillaume  Marie  Anne:  his 
campaign    in    Switzerland,    510 

Brussels:    siege   of    (1695),  245 

Brussels,  The  Union  of   (1577),  126 

Brussels  Conference,  The    (1876),  311 

Bubenberg,  Adrian  von :  favors  Charles 
the   Bold,  406;    defends   Morat,  408 

Buckingham,  George  Villiers,  Duke  of: 
ambassador  to  the  Dutch  Republic, 
239 

Bucquoi,  Count  of:  his  campaign  in 
the  Netherlands,   182 

Bullinger,  Henry:  becomes  chief  pastor 
of  the  church  of  Zurich,  445 

Biilow,  Friedrich  Wilhelm  von :  envoy 
to  the  London  Conference,  300 

Buntzen,  Committee  of:  established, 
547 

Buonas:    battle   of    (1336),   373 

Buonhomo:  his  mission  to  Switzer- 
land,  457 

Bruges:  insurrection  of  (1301),  31; 
siege   of    (1789),   261 

Biirgisser,  Leodegar,  Abbot  of  Tog- 
genburg:    sketch  of,   479 

Burgundy,  House  of:    power  of,  36 

Buridan  of  Ypres:  at  battle  of  Bou- 
vines,  29 

Burkhard,  Duke  of  Suabia:  founds 
dukedom,    342 


Burnet,  Gilbert:  leads  English  mal- 
contents,  243 

Burnonville,  Duke  of:  plots  for  over- 
throw of  Spanish  power  in  Bel- 
gium, 211 

Byng,  John:  his  campaign  against  the 
French,   250 


Cacina,  Alienus:    his  campaign  against 

the  Helvetians,  331 
Cadiz:      taken     by    the     English     and 

Dutch,  163 
Caesar,    Julius:     his    campaigns    in    the 

Netherlands,  5 
Calais:     sieges   of    (1348),   34;    (1558), 

70;   (1596),  163 
Calven:    battle  of  the  (1499),  419 
Calvin,  John:    sketch  of,  448;  death  o', 

450 
Calvinists :    sketch  of,  91 
Cambrai   (Cambray)  :    sieges  of   (1581), 

136;    (1595),  162;    (1677),  241 
Cambrai,   League   of    (1508),  53 
Cambrai,  Peace  of  (1529),  56 
Camperdown:    battle   of    (1797),   266 
Campo  Basso,  Count  of:    treachery  of, 

48 
Campo  Formio,  Treaty  of   (1797),  264 
Capuchins :    established   in   Switzerland, 

457 
Carausius :    deserts   Roman  cause,   10 
Carleton,   George,    Bishop   of   Llandaff: 

ambassador  to  The  Hague,  196 
Caron,   Noel:    ambassador  to  England, 

195 

Carrard :    leads  riot,  563 

Carthusian   Order:    in  Switzerland,  355 

Casambrot,  John,  Lord  of  Beckerzeel : 
his  campaign  against  the  Icono- 
clasts, 97 ;  arrest  of,  105 ;  death  of, 
108 

Cassel:  battles  of  (1328),  32;  (1677), 
241 

Cateau-Cambresis,    Treaty    of     (1559), 

71 
Ceporin :    becomes  a  teacher  in  Zurich, 

436 
Charlemagne,     Holy    Roman     emperor: 

condition     of     Switzerland     under, 

340 
Charles    (III)    the    Fat,    Holy    Roman 


INDEX 


607 


emperor:    causes   the   assassination 
of  Godfrey,  Duke  of  the  Normans, 

21 

Charles  IV,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
condition  of  Switzerland  under, 
378 

Charles  V,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
inaugurated  Duke  of  Brabant  and 
Count  of  Flanders  and  of  Holland, 
54;  chosen  emperor,  55;  condition 
of  Switzerland  under,  443 ;  abdica- 
tion of,  59;  death  of,  60 

Charles  I,  King  of  England:  his  re- 
lations with  the  Dutch  Republic, 
209 

Charles  II,  King  of  England:  death  of, 
242 

Charles  VI,  King  of  France:  at  war 
with   Flanders,  34 

Charles  VII,  King  of  France:  con- 
cludes the  Peace  of  Arras,  41  >  his 
campaigns  against  the  Swiss,  401 ; 
concludes    treaty    with    the    Swiss, 

405 

Charles  II,  King  of  Spain:  death  of, 
246 

Charles  (X)  Gustavus,  King  of 
Sweden:  at  war  with  Denmark, 
231 

Charles  XI,  King  of  Sweden:  mediates 
between    Holland    and    France,    245 

Charles,  Archduke  of  Austria:  made 
governor  of  Austrian  Netherlands, 
263;  in  the  war  of  the  second  coa- 
lition, 516 

Charles  the  Rash,  or  the  Bold,  Duke  of 
Burgundy:  career  of,  42,  43;  his 
relations  with  the  Swiss,  405; 
quarrels  with  Frederick  III  of 
Germany,  406;   death  of,  409 

Charles  III,  Duke  of  Savoy:  attempts 
to  bring  Geneva  and  Lausanne  un- 
der his  sway,  446 

Charles  Martel,  Frankish  king:  de- 
feated by  Radbod,  King  of  the  Fris- 
cons,  14 

Charles  of  Egmont,  Duke  of  Guelders: 
career  of,  52;  his  relations  with 
Margaret  of  Austria,  53;  recog- 
nized as  stadtholder  of  Groningen, 
54;  death  of,  59 

Charles  of  France,  Duke  of  Lorraine: 
sketch  of,  22 


Chasse,  David  Hendrik,  Baron:  at 
siege  of  Antwerp,   297,  303 

Chatillon,  Count  de :  his  campaign  in 
Belgium,  211 

Chokier,  de:  member  of  Belgian  pro- 
visional government,  297 

Christian,  Duke  of  Brunswick:  strug- 
gles  against   imperial   forces,  204 

Christian  Alliance,  The   (1529),  442 

Christianity:  introduced  into  Switzer- 
land, 334 

Cistercian    Order:    in    Switzerland,   355 

Civilis:  attempts  to  expel  the  Ro- 
mans, 9 

Gaw-men :    description  of,  544  note 

Clement  VIII,  Pope:  encourages  peace 
between  France  and  Spain,  164 

Clericals:  oppose  the  new  constitution, 
291 

Clothaire  II,  Frankish  king:  extermi- 
nates Saxons  of  Hanover  and 
Westphalia,  14 

Clotaire   IV,  Frankish  king:    policy  of, 

337 

Qovis:    defeats  the  Alemanni,  337 

Code  Napoleon,  271 

Collin:  becomes  a  teacher  in  Zurich, 
436;  translates  the  Bible  into  Ger- 
man, 453 

Columban,  Saint:    sketch  of,  338 

Comines,  Philip  de :    sketch  of,  62 

Conde,  Louis  (II)  de  Bourbon,  Prince 
of,  called  the  Great  Conde:  his 
campaign    in    Flanders,    214 

Confederation  of  the  Netherlands:  or- 
ganized, 86 

Congo  Free  State:  placed  under  the 
control   of   Belgium,  311 

Conrad  II,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
crowned  King  of  Burgundy,  345 

Conrad  III,  Duke  of  Burgundy:  made 
duke,  349 

Conrad  von  Mure:    sketch  of,  361 

Conrad  von  Tegerfeld:  plots  against 
Albert  I  of  Austria,  :^ 

Constance:    siege  of    (1548),  460 

Constance,   Council   of    (1414),   396 

Constantine  the  Great,  Roman  emperor: 
attempts  to  gain  possession  of  Bel- 
gium,  ID 

Constantius  I,  Roman  emperor:  at- 
tempts to  gain  possession  of  Bel- 
gium, 10 


60B 


INDEX 


Constitution  of  1848,  The  Swiss:     ao 

cepted,  555;  revised,  565 
Constitution     of      1874,     The     Swiss : 
adopted,     567;     working    of,     570; 
amended,  572 
Continental   System,   The,   268,   269 
Copenhagen:    siege  of  (1658),  231 
Cortenbergh,   Treaty   of    (1312),   32 
Council  of  Blood:    see  Troubles,  Coun- 
cil  of 
Council    of    Troubles:     see    Troubles, 

Council  of 
Courtrai:    battle  of  (1302),  31 
Courtrai,  Sohier:    fate  of,  33 
Crayer,  Caspar  de:    sketch  of,  220 
Croi,    Philip    de,    Duke    of    Aerschot: 
member    of    governing    council    of 
the    Netherlands,    120;    made    gov- 
ernor of  Flanders,  128 
Crookhaven:    burned  by  the  Dutch,  197 
Crusades,   The:    effect  in  the   Nether- 
lands,  29 
Cuno  von  Stoffeln,  Abbot  of  St  Gall: 
administration  of,  389 


Dort,  Synod  of  (1618),  199 

Douay,    University    of:     founding    and 

growth  of,  169 
Dousa  (John  van  der  Duye)  :    at  siege 

of  Leyden,  118 
Dover:    battles  of  (1604),  180;   (1652), 

229 
Downs,  Battle  of  the   (1639),  213 
Dreux:    battle  of  (1562),  460 
Drusus,     Nero     Claudius:     begins     the 

construction    of    dikes    and    canals 

above  the  Rhine,  8 
Duffle   Conference,  The    (1566),  93 
Dufour,    Heinrich:     chosen    general    of 

Liberal  forces,  551 
Dufour,  Peter:    attempts  to  assassinate 

Maurice  of  Orange,   161 
Dumouriez,  Charles  Francois:   his  cam- 
paigns in  the  Franco-Austrian  War, 

263 
Duncan,  Adam,  Viscount  Camperdown: 

at  the  battle  of  Camperdown,  266 
Duye,  John  van  der:    see  Dousa 


D 


Datlun,  Peter:    preaches  Protestantism, 

92 
Davel,   Daniel   Abraham:     leads    insur- 
rection in  the  Vaud,  501 
Dean,    Richard:    in   the   war   with   the 

Dutch,  230 
Debris:    member  of  governing  council 

of  the   Netherlands,   120 
Delvasto,    General:     at    siege    of    Ant- 
werp,  149 
Dendermonde  Conference,  The   (1566), 

100 
Desor,  Edouard:  sketch  of,  584 
Dettingen:    battle  of   (1743),  255 
Dirk,  Count:    founds  Dordrecht,  24 
Divico:    defeats   the   Romans,   329 
Does,  Admiral  Van  der:   his  expedition 

against  the  Spanish,   171 
Doffingen:    battle  of   (1388),  384 
Dogger  Bank:    battle  of   (1781),  258 
Dordrecht:    founded,  24 
Dorislaus,   Isaac:    murder  of,  229 
Dombtihl:  battle  of  (1298),  363 
Domeck   (Dornach)  :    battle  of   (1499), 
419 


East  India  Company,  Dutch:  organ- 
ized, 166,  167;  growth  of,  221 

East  India  Company,  Ostend:  see  Os- 
tend   Company 

Ebel:  sketch  of,  494;  pleads  for  unity 
in  Switzerland,  508 

Edict,  The  Perpetual    (i577),   126 

Edlibach,  Ceroid:  sketch  of,  428 

Edward  III,  King  of  England:  claims 
French  throne,  33 

Edward  IV,  King  of  England:  con- 
cludes alliance  with  Charles  the 
Rash  of  Burgundy,  44;  invades 
France,   46 

Edzart,  Count  of  Friesland :  chosen 
count,  51;  adopts  the  Reformation, 

54 
Egfmont,  Lamoral,  Count  of:  his  cam- 
paigns against  the  French,  70;  per- 
mits no  persecutions  in  his  prov- 
inces, "JT,  joins  plot  against  Gran- 
velle,  78;  envoy  to  Spain,  82;  joins 
confederates,  89;  resigns  his  gov- 
ernment position,  90;  yields  to  the 
seductions  of  the  governant,  99; 
takes  the  new  oath  of  allegiance, 
102;  arrest  of,  105;  death  of,  108 


INDEX 


609 


Ekkehard  T:  sketch  of,  345 

Ekkehard  II :  sketch  of,  346 

Ekkehard  IV:  sketch  of,  346 

Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England:  hostility 
of,  toward  Philip  II  of  Spain,  71; 
opens  English  ports  to  Plemish 
refugees,  107;  intercedes  for  Dutch 
Protestants,  121 ;  concludes  treaty 
with  Dutch  Protestants,  126;  re- 
fuses to  marry  the  Duke  of  Anjou, 
137;  abandons  the  Dutch  Republic, 
171;  death  of,   177 

Emma  of  Waldeck,  Princess:  mar- 
riage of,  318;  regency  of,  318 

Enghien:    see  Steenkirk 

Epinoi,  Prince  of:  plots  for  overthrow 
of  Spanish  power  in   Belgium,  211 

Epinoi,  Princess  of:  at  the  siege  of 
Toumay,   137 

Erasmus,  Desiderius:  aids  the  Refor- 
mation, 55 ;   sketch  of,  63 

Erlach,  Hans  Ludwig  von:  at  the 
Miinster  Conference,  465 

Erlach,  Ludwig  von:  incites  war 
against  France,  511 

Erlach,  Rudolf  von:  in  the  Helvetic 
civil  war,  519 

Erlach,  Sigmund  von:  in  the  peasant 
revolts,  473 

Erlach,  Sigmund  von,  nephew  of  the 
preceding:  draws  up  a  Federal 
charter,  475 

Ernest,  Archduke  of  Austria:  made 
governor  of  the  Netherlands,  161; 
death  of,  162 

Escher:    sketch  of,  584 

Escher,  Alfred:  his  efforts  in  behalf 
of   the    St.    Gothard   Railway,   574 

Escher,  Hans  Konrad :    sketch  of,  522 

Escher,  Johann  Kaspar:  administra- 
tion of,  484 

Escher,  Konrad:  upholds  revolutionary 
ideas,  503 

Essex,  Earl  of:  his  expedition  against 
Cadiz,   163 

Etterlin,    Petermann:     sketch    of,    427 

Etzel:  battles  of  the  (l439).  399; 
(1440),  399 

Eugene  of  Savoy,  Prince:  his  cam- 
paign against  the  Turks,  246;  his 
campaigns  in  the  War  of  Spanish 
Succession,  247;  his  campaigns 
against  the  French,  249 


Entlebach:    rising  of  (1653),  470 

Evibach,    Zwier   von:  at   the    Munster 

Conference,  465 

Eyck,  John  van:    see  John  of  Bruges 


Factory  Act  (1877),  571 
Faenza:    siege  of  (1240),  358 
Farel,   William:    sketch  of,  447 
Fambuhler:     leads    insurrection,    416 
Famsburg:    siege  of   (1444),  401 
Farthings,  War  of,  469 
Fasi :    sketch  of,  494 
Fatio,  Pierre:    leads  reform  movement 

in  Geneva,  498 
Favre:    builds   the   St   Gothard    Rail- 
way, 574 
Fazy,   James:     establishes   the    Radical 

party  in  Geneva,  550 
Federal  Pact,  The   (1815),  527 
Felix,   Saint:    martyred,  334 
Fellenberg,    Emanuel    von:     sketch    of, 

522;  aids  Pestalozzi,  323 
Ferdinand  I,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  ac- 
cession   of,    59;    opposes   the   Ref- 
ormation, 443 
Ferdinand  V,  King  of  Spain:    appoints 

the    Spanish   Inquisition,  83   note 
Ferdinand,  Archbishop  of  Toledo:    ap- 
pointed    governor-general    of    the 
Netherlands,  211;   death  of,  214 
Ferdinand,  Treaty  of  (1529),  443 
Feudalism:    in  Switzerland,  350 
Fiennes,  Gislain  de :  given  command  of 

the  privateers,  iii 
Fitz-Osbom,  William:  death  of,  26 
Flanders:   origin   of,   20;    furnishes  as- 
sistance to  William  the  Conqueror, 
25;    rebels    against    Maximilian,   50 
Fleurus:  battles  of  (1690),  245;  (1794). 

264 
Florizon:  in  the  war  with  Sweden,  232 
Fontana,  Benedict:  at  the  battle  of  the 

Calven,  419 
Fontenoy:  battle  of   (i745).  255 
Forster,    Pancraz,  Abbot    of    St  Gall: 
opposes     Beda,     506;     revokes    his 
concessions  to  the  people,  516 
Francis  I,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  made 
co-regent   with    Maria   Theresa   of 
Austria,  254 


610 


INDEX 


Francis  II,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
reign  of,  263 

Francis  I,  King  of  France:  claims  the 
imperial  crown,  55 ;  at  war  with 
the  Swiss,  422;  concludes  alliance 
with  the  Swiss  Protestants,  444 

Franco-Prussian  War,  309 

Franks,  Salian:  invade  the  Nether- 
lands, 10;  struggle  of,  with  the 
Saxons,  II 

Frasnes:  battle  of  (1815),  287 

Frastenz:  battle  of  (1499),  418 

Fraubrunnen:   battle  of    (i375)    379 

Franscini :  draws  up  a  new  government 
for  the  Vaud,  532 

Frederic  of  Toledo:  his  campaign  in 
the  Netherlands,  113 

Frederick  II,  Holy  Roman  emperor: 
conditions  of  Switzerland  under, 
358 

Frederick  (III)  of  Austria,  Holy 
Roman  emperor:  claims  imperial 
throne,  364;  quarrels  with  Charles 
the  Bold,  406;  condition  of 
Switzerland  under,  417 

Frederick  V,  Elector  Palatine  and  King 
of  Bohemia:  chosen  King  of  Bo- 
hemia, 203 

Frederick  I,  King  of  Prussia:  elected 
King  of  Neuchatel,  479 

Frederick  (II)  the  Great,  King  of 
Prussia:  at  war  with  Maria  The- 
resa, 254 

Frederick,  Prince  of  Saxe-Coburg:  his 
campaigns  in  the  Franco-Austrian 
War,  263 

Frederick,  Prince  of  the  Netherlands: 
his  campaign  against  Napoleon, 
287;  in  the  Belgian  Revolution,  296 

Frederick,  Duke  of  Austria:  aids  Swiss 
rebellion,  390;  aids  John  XXIII  in 
his  schism,  396;  death  of,  398 

Frederick,  Duke  of  Holstein:  offers 
shelter  to  Remonstrants,  201 

Frederick  VII,  Count  of  Toggenburg: 
sketch  of,  397 

Frederick  Henry  of  Nassau,  Prince  of 
Orange:  at  battle  of  Nieuport,  174; 
his  mission  to  England,  178;  his 
campaigns  in  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,  204;  becomes  Prince  of 
Orange,  208;  career  of,  208;  death 
of,  217 


Frederick  of  Staufen,  Duke  of  Suabia: 

made  duke,  347 
Freienbach:   battle  of    (1443),  400 
Fribourg:   submits  to  the  Liberals,  552 
Fridolin,  Saint:  sketch  of,  338 
Frischberz:  death  of,  467 
Frisching,    von:    leads    peace    party    in 

Berne,  511 
Prisons,  The:  description  of,  7 
Frohlich,  Abraham  Emanuel :  sketch  of, 

,530 
Froissart,  Jean:  sketch  of,  62 
Friind,  Johannes:  sketch  of,  427 
Fuchs,  Alois:  sketch  of,  543 
Fuchs,  Christopher:  sketch  of,  543 
Fueter:  leads  uprising  in  Berne,  499 
Fuentes,    Pedro    Henriquez    d'Azevedo, 

Count    of:    appointed    governor    of 

the  Netherlands,   160;  his  intrigues 

with  the  Swiss  Catholics,  461 
Fundamental    Law,     The:     adopted     in 

Belgium,  292 
Furrer,  Jonas:  elected  president  of  the 

Swiss  Confederation,  556 
Fury,  The  Spanish  (1576),  122 
Fussach:  see  Hard 
Fiissli,  Johann   Rudolf:    sketch  of,   494 


Galen,    Christopher    Bernhard    van:    in 

the  war  with  the  English,  230 
Gajitani,  General:  at  siege  of  Antwerp, 

149 

Gelterkinden :  battle  of  (1832),  537 

Gemblours:  battle  of  (1578),  130 

Geneva:  conditions  in,  under  Calvin, 
449;  siege  of  (1602),  459;  reforms 
in,  498 

Geneva,  Convention  of  (1864),  562 

Genlis,  Count  de:  aids  Dutch  Protes- 
tants, 113 

George  II,  King  of  England:  aids 
Maria  Theresa,  255 

George  von  Wildenstein,  Abbot  of  St. 
Gall :  administration  of,  389 

Gerard,  Balthasar:  assassinates  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  142 

Gerard,  Count  Etienne  Maurice:  his 
campaign  in  the  Netherlands,  302 

Gerlache :  member  of  Belgian  provi- 
sional government,  297 


INDEX 


611 


Gessner,  Konrad:  sketch  of,  455 
Gessner,  Salomon:  sketch  of,  490 
Gevaerts:    negotiates    treaty    with    the 

estates  of  the  Netherlands,  184 
Ghent:   insurrection  of   (1338),  33;  de- 
mands  restitution  of  ancient  privi- 
leges,   44;    insurrection    of    (1539), 
58;  siege  of  (1789),  261 
Ghent,  Pacification  of   (1576)  :   123 
Ghent,  Admiral  van:   death  of,  236 
Giambelli,    Federigo:    at    the    siege    of 

Antwerp,  148 
Gibbon,     Edward:     visits     Switzerland, 

489 
Gibraltar:  battle  of   (1607),  183;  taken 

by  the  English  (1705),  250 
Giglius:    member   of   governing  council 

of  the  Netherlands,  120 
Gilden:  description  of,  18 
Giomico:  battle  of  (1478),  414 
Girard,  Father:  persecuted,  529 
Gislikon:      battles      of      (1653),     473; 

(1847),  552 
Glarean    (Heinrich   Loriti   of   Glarus) : 

sketch  of,  428 
Glimes,  Admiral  de:  death  of,  116 
Godfrey,  Count  of  Ardenne:  made  gov- 
ernor of  Lorraine,  21 
Godfrey,  Duke  of  the  Normans:  makes 
an    agreement    with    the    Nether^ 
lands,  21 
Godfrey  of   Bouillon,   Duke  of  Lower 

Lorraine:   joins   the   crusades,  29 
Godfrey   of    Enham,    Duke    of    Lower 
Lorraine:     his     expedition     against 
the  Frisons,  24 
Goignies,    Antoine    de:    his    campaign 

against  the  Spanish,  130 
Golden    Fleece,    Order    of    the:    intro- 
duced into  the  Netherlands,  43 
Goldi,   George:   at  the  battle  of   Kap- 

pel,  44 
Golden  League,  The  (1586),  458 
Goodwin    Sands:  battle  of  (1652),  230 
Gomarus,  Francis:  opposes  doctrines  of 

Arminius,  193 
Gortz,  Baron :  arrest  of,  253 
Gotthelf,  Jeremiah:  sketch  of,  584 
Graf,  Michael:  opposes  Reding,  398 
Grand  Alliance,  The:    (1701),  247 
Grandson     (Granson)  :     taken    by    the 
French    (1475),  407,  408;  battle  of 
(1476),  47 


Granvelle,  Anthony  Perrenot  de.  Bish- 
op of  Arras:  his  speech  before  the 
estates,  72;  made  primate  of  the 
low  countries,  yT,  conspiracy 
against,  78;  recalled  from  the 
Netherlands,  81 ;  proposes  the  mur- 
der of  William  of  Orange,  135  note 

Grauholz:  battle  of   (1798),  511 

Grave:  battle  of  (1586),  151;  surren- 
ders to  the  states-general,  178 

Gravelines:  battle  of  (1558),  70 

Grebel,  Konrad:  teachings  of,  437 

Gregory  XIH,  Pope:  offers  to  mediate 
between  Spain  and  the  Nether- 
lands, 133 

Greifensee:  seige  of  (1444),  401 

Gresham,  Sir  Thomas :  English  agent 
in  Antwerp,  74  note 

Grey,  Charles,  Earl  Grey:  favors  Bel- 
gian independence,  299 

Grindelwald:   battle  of   (ca.    1 190),  349 

Groeneveldt,  Regnier  van :  plots  against 
life  of  Maurice  of  Nassau,  205 

Groningen:  siege  of   (1594),   161 

Groot  (Grotius),  Hugo  de:  arrest  of, 
199;  escapes  from  prison,  201; 
sketch  of,  219 

Grouchy,  Marquis  Emmanuel  de:  in 
the  campaigns  of  the  Hundred 
Days,  287 

Grubenmanns,  The:  sketch  of,  494 

Guasto,  Marquis  of:  at  battle  of 
Wemsfeld,  151 

Gubel:  battle  of  (iS30.  445 

Guelders:  War  of,  52 

Guelders,  Charles  of  Egmont,  Duke  of: 
see  Charles  of  Egmont,  Duke  of 
Guelders 

Gueux:  adopted  as  name  for  confeder- 
ates, 88 

Gugger:  teachings  of,  492 

Guiche,  Marshal  de:  his  campaign 
against  the  Spanish,  214 

Guinegate:  battle  of  (l479).  5© 

Gujer,  Jacob:  sketch  of,  490 

Gujer,  Jakob:  opens  the  Assembly  of 
Uster,  535 

Gundobad,  Burgundian  king:  reign  of, 
337 

Gunpowder:  trade  in.  made  a  state 
monopoly  in  Switzerland,  580 

Gustavus  (H)  Adolphus,  King  of 
Sweden:  offers  shelter  to  Remon- 


612 


INDEX 


strants,   201;   his  campaigns  in  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  211;  death  of, 

215 


Haan,  de:  arrest  of,  201 
Haarlem:  siege  of  (1572),  113 
Hadlaub,  John:  sketch  of,  361 
Haemstede,  Admiral  von:   captured  by 

the  Dutch,  117 
Hagenbach,  K. :  sketch  of,  584 
Hagenbach,   Peter  von:   widens   breach 
between  Burgundy  and  the  Confed- 
erates, 405;  death  of,  406 
Hague,  The:  taken  by  the  Spanish,  114 
Hague  Conference,  The  (1608),  188 
Hague   Peace   Conference,  The    (1899), 

318 
Haller,  Albrecht  von:  sketch  of,  488 
Haller,  Berthold:  reforms  of,  439 
Haller,  Karl  L.  von:  advocates  opposi- 
tion to  all  liberal  institutions,  528 
Hallvil,    Hans    von:    at   the    battle    of 

Morat,  409 
Hals,  Frans :  sketch  of,  220 
Hammerlin:  taken  prisoner,  402 
Hanne  Court:  battle  of  (1642),  214 
Hanover,  Treaty  of  (1726),  253 
Hans  von  Rapperswil,  Count:  attempts 
to  aid  the  councilors  of  Zurich,  376 
Haranguer:  plans  capture  of  Breda,  156 
Hard   (Fussach)  :  battle  of  (i499),  418 
Hartmann  von  Kiburg:  attempts  to  ex- 
tend his  rights,  360;  death  of,  373 
Hasselaar,    Catherine    van:    sketch    of, 

114 
Hatto,  Bishop  of  Basle:  commands  the 

collection   of   books,   341 
Haultain,  Admiral  of  Zealand:  at  bat- 
tle of  Dover,  180 
Havana:  battle  of  (1628),  209 
Heemskirk,  Jakob  van:  discovers  Spitz- 
bergen,   167;   at  battle  of  the   Bay 
of  Gibraltar,  183 
Heemskirk,  van:  leads  Conserva- 
tive party,  315 
Heer,  Oswald:  sketch  of,  584 
Hegetschueiler :  publishes  his  plant  de- 
scriptions, 521 
Heidegger,  Johann  Heinrich:  sketch  of, 
4^ 


Heiligerbee:  battle  of  (1568),  109 
Heinrich   von    Bubenberg:     sketch    o^ 

402 
Heinsius,    Antonius:     policy    of,    248; 

influence  of,  249 
Helt,     Mathew:     aids    in    capture    of 

Breda,  156 
Helvetic  Constitution:  forced  upon  the 

people,  514 
Helvetic  Society :  organized,  491 ;  made 

a  political  association,  530 
Hembyse,  John:  becomes  a  demagogue, 

129;  death  of,  141 
Hemmerli,  Felix:   sketch  of,  428;  con- 
demns  the   laxness    of   the   clergy, 

431 
Henry    (HI)    the   Black,   Holy   Roman 

emperor:   condition  of  Switzerland 

under,  345 
Henry     (VII)     of    Luxemburg,     Holy 

Roman     emperor:       condition      of 

Switzerland  under,  364 
Henry    V,    King    of    England:    grants 

protection    to   Jacqueline,    Countess 

of  Holland,  39 
Henry  VIII,  King  of  England:  aids  the 

Emperor  Charles  V  against  Francis 

I  of  France,  56 
Henry  II,  King  of  France:  victories  of, 

59 

Henry  (IV)  of  Navarre,  King  of 
France:  intercepts  letters  from 
John  of  Austria  to  Philip  II  of 
Spain,  127;  accepts  the  Catholic 
faith,  160;  aids  the  Dutch  Republic, 
171 ;  concludes  alliance  with  the 
Swiss,  461 ;   assassination  of,   192 

Henry,  King  of  the  Romans:  aids 
growth  of  Swiss  liberty,  358 

Henry,  Count  of  Louvain  and  Count  of 
Brabant:  adds  Count  of  Brabant  to 
his  title,  26 

Henry  of  Nassau:  his  campaign  against 
the  Spanish,  117 

Henry  of  the  Netherlands,  Prince: 
marriage  of,  318 

Henry  Casimir  of  Nassau,  Count: 
death  of,  213 

Henzi,  Samuel:  sketch  of,  498 

Hericourt:  siege  and  battle  of  (1474), 
407 

Heriold:  gains  a  footing  in  the  Nether- 
lands, 20 


INDEX 


618 


Hermanszoon,  Wolfert:  defeats  the 
Spanish,  i8o 

Herzog,  Marianus:  leads  opposition  to 
the  new  constitution,  513;  made 
general  of  the   Federal  forces,  562 

Herzogenbuchsee :  battle  of  (1653), 
473 

Heyn,  Peter:  commands  fleet  of  West 
India  Company,  209 

Hirzel:  battle  of  (1443),  400 

Hirzel,  Bernhard :  leads  conservative 
opposition,  546 

Hirzel,  Hans  Kaspar:  sketch  of,  490 

Hoeks:  description  of,  40  note 

Hogendorp,  Count  von:  leads  patriotic 
movement,  272 

Hohenloe,  (Hohenlohe),  Count:  at  the 
Breda  Conference,  119;  made  lieu- 
tenant general,  147 

Holland  and  Belgium,  History  of:  be- 
fore the  invasion  of  the  Franks,  3; 
struggle  of  Franks  and  Saxons,  1 1 ; 
rise  of  the  counts,  16;  decline  of 
feudalism  and  growth  of  the  towns, 
24;  power  of  the  house  of  Bur- 
gundy, 36;  Margaret  of  Austria 
and  Charles  V  of  Spain,  53;  condi- 
tion under  Philip  H  of  Spain,  67; 
commencement  of  the  Revolution, 
85;  surrender  of  Valenciennes  and 
tyranny  of  Alva,  98;  appointment 
of  Requescens  and  Pacification  of 
Ghent,  116;  revolt  from  sovereignty 
and  declaration  of  independence, 
125;  edict  of  Philip  and  murder  of 
Prince  of  Orange,  135;  Alexander, 
Duke  of  Parma,  145;  successes  of 
Prince  Maurice  and  death  of  Philip 
n,  160;  Prince  Maurice  and  Spin- 
ola,  170;  Dutch  disasters  and  the 
Twelve  Years'  Peace,  182;  renewal 
of  war  with  Spain  and  the  despot- 
ism of  Prince  Maurice,  201;  Fred- 
erick Henry  and  the  Peace  of 
Westphalia,  208;  war  with  Eng- 
land, 225;  William  IH  and  Louis 
XIV,  242;  decline  of  the  republic, 
253;  the  French  invasion,  265;  Wil- 
liam I  as  prince  and  sovereign  of 
the  Netherlands,  279;  the  Belgian 
Revolution,  291 ;  Belgium  as  an  in- 
dependent kingdom,  304;  the  king- 
dom of  the  Netherlands,  313 


Holle,  Count:  proclaims  the  friendli- 
ness of  the  princes  of  the  empire 
toward  the  Belgians,  86 

Holmes,  Sir  Robert:  in  the  war  with 
the  Dutch,  235 

Hooft,  Pieter  Comelissen:  sketch  of, 
220 

Hoogerbeets:  arrest  of,  199 

Hoogstraeten,  Count  of:  refuses  to 
take  the  new  oath  of  allegiance, 
102;  flees  to  Germany,  103 

Horn,  Count  Gustaf  of:  his  campaign 
in  Switzerland,  464 

Horn  (Hoom),  Philippe  de  Mont- 
morency-Nivelle,  Count  of:  escorts 
Philip  II  to  Spain,  73;  joins  plot 
against  Granvelle,  78;  joins  confed- 
eration, 89;  resigns  his  govern- 
ment position,  90;  refuses  to  take 
the  new  oath  of  allegiance,  loa; 
arrest  of,  105;  death  of,  108 

Horn-men:     description  of,  544  note 

Hottinger,  Johann  Heinrich:  sketch  of, 
482 

Hottinger,  Johann  Jakob:  sketch  of, 
482 

Houtman,  Cornells:  forms  a  Dutch 
East  India  Company,  167 

Hudson,  Henry:  discoveries  of,  167 

Hugonet:  death  of,  48 

Hugues,  Bezanson:  sketch  of,  447 

Hulst:  taken  by  the  Spanish  (1596), 
163;  battle  of  (1643),  214 

Huningen:  siege  of  (1815)  527 

Hurtado,  Admiral :  his  expeditioa 
against  the  Dutch,  180 

Huy:  siege  of  (1694),  245 


I.L  K 

Iconoclasts:  sketch  of,  94 

Imbercourt:  death  of,  48 

Imgrund,  Heinrich :  sketch  of,  411 

India  Company,  Dutch:  see  East  India 
Company,  Dutch 

Inge! ram  von  Coucy,  Baron:  invades 
Switzerland,  378 

Iimocent  IV,  Pope:  excommunicates 
Frederick  II  of  Germany,  359 

Inquisition:  introduced  into  the  Neth- 
erlands, 59;  reestablished  in  the 
Netherlands,  83 


614 


INDEXi 


Inquisition,  Spanish :  sketch  of,  83  note 

Insurance,  Law  of:  passed   (1899),  573 

International  Peace  Conference  (1899), 
318 

International  Railway  Bureau:  estab- 
lished, 591 

Invincible  Armada,  The:  see  Armada, 
The  Invincible 

Isabella,  Queen  of  Spain:  appoints  the 
Spanish   Inquisition,  83  note 

Isabella,  daughter  of  Philip  II  of 
Spain:  affianced  to  the  Archduke 
Albert,  164;  death  of,  211 

Iselin,  Isaak:  sketch  of,  490,  492 

Ittingen,  Monastery  of:  burned,  438 

Jacqueline,  Countess  of  Holland  and 
Hainault:  marries  John,  Duke  of 
Brabant,  38;  sketch  of,  39;  death 
of,  41 

Jamac:  battle  of  (1562),  460 

James  I,  King  of  England  (VI  of  Scot- 
land) :  accession  of,  to  English 
throne,  178;  forms  alliance  with 
Maurice  of  Nassau,  195 

James  II,  King  of  England:  in  the  war 
with  the  Dutch,  233;  accession  of, 
242 

Jardins,  Des:  sketch  of,  220 

Jaureguay,  John:  attempts  to  assassi- 
nate William  of  Orange,  138 

Jeannin:  represents  France  at  the 
Hague  Peace  Commission  (1607), 
186 

Jemappes  (Jemmapes) :  battle  of 
(1792),  263 

Jemmingen:  battle  of  (1568),  109 

Jenatsch,  George:  leads  revolt,  462; 
leads  attack  on  Pompey  Planta, 
463;  death  of,  463 

Jesuits:  expelled  from  Holland,  253; 
established  in  Switzerland,  457; 
suppressed  in  Switzerland,  495; 
establish  themselves  in  Fribourg, 
529;  support  the  Conservatives  in 
Switzerland,  549;  expelled  from 
Switzerland,  552 

Jews:  flee  to  Holland,  168;  given  the 
rights  of  citizenship  in  Aargau, 
564 

Joachimi:  his  mission  to  the  English 
Parliament,  225 

Joanna,  Queen  of  Castile:  becomes  in- 
sane, 53 


John  XXIII,  anti-Pope:  sketch  of,  396 

John  IV,  King  of  Portugal:  accession 
of,  212 

John,  Duke  of  Brabant:  influence  of, 
38;  death  of,  40 

John  Casimir,  Count  Palatine:  assists 
Dutch  Protestants,  131 

John  of  Austria,  Don:  appointed  gov- 
ernor of  the  Netherlands,  120;  his 
governorship  of  the  Netherlands, 
125;  death  of,  131 

John  of  Bruges  (John  van  Eyck) : 
sketch  of,  63 

John  the  Fearless,  Count  of  Nevers 
and  Burgundy:  his  expedition 
against  the  Turks,  37;  succeeds  to 
Count  of  Burgundy,  27;   death  of, 

39 
John   the   Parricide,  Duke  of  Austria: 

kills  the  Emperor  Albert,  364 
John  the  Pitiless  of  Bavaria,  Bishop  of 

Liege:  reign  of,  38 
John  von  Bubenberg:  defends  Laupen, 

374 

Jordaens:  sketch  of,  220 

Joseph  II,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  reign 
of,  257;  death  of,  262 

Jud,  Leo:  reforms  of,  445;  translates 
the  Bible  into  German,  453 

Judith,  daughter  of  Charles  the  Bold: 
marries  Baldwin,  Count  of  Flan- 
ders, 20 

Julian  the  Apostate,  Roman  emperor: 
aids  the  Salian  Franks,  12 

Julius  II,  Pope:  at  war  with  France, 
421 

Justin  of  Nassau:  aids  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Armada,  154;  his  cam- 
paign against  the  Spanish,  210 

Justinger,  Konrad:  sketch  of,  427 

Kaabeljauws:  description  of,  40  note 

Kaiser,  Jakob:  death  of,  442 

Kappel:  battle  of  (1531)  444 

Kappel,  Charter  of  (1531),  445 

Kappel,  Peaces  of:  (1529),  443;  (i53i)f 
445  , 

Keller,  Augustin:  proposes  the  dis- 
solution of  the  religious  houses, 
548 

Keller,  Ferdinand:  sketch  of,  584 

Keller,  Gottfried:  sketch  of,  584 

Keller,  Heinrich:  publishes  his  maps, 
521 


INDEX 


615 


Keller,  Ludwig:  joins  movement  for  re- 
vision of  the  Confederation,  539 
Kesselring,    Kilian:    imprisonment     of, 

464 
Kessler,  John:  reforms  of,  439 
Kistler,  Peter:  sketch  of,  413 
Klaazoon,    Vice    Admiral:    bravery    of, 

183 
Klus:  battle  of  (1632),  464 
Koning,  Peter  de:  leads  insurrection  of 

Bruges,  31 
Koolhaas,    Gaspard :     excommunicated, 

193 
Kopp,  Joseph  Eutych:  denies  the  truth 

of  the  William  Tell  legends,  371 
Korsakow       (Korssakoff),      Alexander 

Ivanovitch  Rimskoi:    his    campaign 

in  Switzerland,  517 
Kuilenburg,    Count    de:    at    the    DufBe 

Conference,   93;    flees   to   Germany, 

103 
Kiinzle,  John :  leads  revolt,  506 
Kuropatkin,  Alexei  Nikolayevitch :  sent 

from  Switzerland,  589 
Kiissnach,  Memorial  of  (1830),  535 


La  Barde,  De:    envoy  to   Switzerland, 

477 

La  Berlotta:  his  campaign  in  the  Neth- 
erlands, 174 

La  Cerda,  John  de,  Duke  of  Medina- 
celi:  made  governor  of  the  Neth- 
erlands, 112 

Laharpe,  Frederick  Caesar:  career  of, 
504;    schemes   for   Switzerland,  507 

La  Hogue:    battle  of   (1692),  245 

Lalain,  Count  of:  given  command  of 
forces,  126 

Lambert  II,  Count  of  Louvain:  claims 
duchy  of   Lower   Lorraine,  22 

La  Marche,  Olivier  de :  sketch  of,  62 

La  None,  Frangois  de,  surnamed  Bras- 
de-Fer:  taken  prisoner,  136 

Lannoy,  Count  de:  at  the  battle  of 
Osterweel,    102 

Laupen:    siege  of  (1339),  374 

Lausanne,  University  of:    founded,  448 

Lavater,  Rudolf:  quells  insurrection, 
437;  at  the  battle  of  Kappel,  444 


Lavater,    Johann    Caspar:     sketch    of, 

491,  492 
League  above  the  Sea   (1405),  391 
League  of  God's  House:   (1367),  394; 

(1498),  394 
Ledenberg:  arrest  and  death  of,  199 
Leicester,     Robert     Dudley,     Earl     of: 

his   campaign    in   the    Netherlands, 

ISO 
Leipzig    (Leipsic) :     battle   of    (1813), 

272,  524 
Leoben,  Peace  of  (1797),  264 
Leopold     I,     Holy     Roman     emperor: 

claims  Spanish  throne,  247 
Leopold  II,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  his 

Belgian  policy,  262 
Leopold  I,   King  of  Belgium:    election 

of,   299;    crowned,    300;    reign    of, 

304 
Leopold    II,    King   of   Belgium:     reign 

of,  307 
Lerma,    Duke   of:     desires    peace    with 

the  Netherlands,  187 
Leu,    Joseph :    leads    the    Ultramontan- 

ists,   547;   death   of,  550 
Leuenberger,    Nicholas:     incites   an   in- 
surrection,  471 ;    death    of,   473 
Leyden:    siege  of  (1574),  118 
Leyden,   University  of:    sketch  of,   169 
Liege:    revolt  of  (1467),  44 
Liestal:    battle  of   (1831),  537 
Ligny:    battle  of  (1815),  287 
Linth  Canal:  built,  522 
Lippe,    Count   of:     pven    command    of 

the     army    of    the     Rhine     Circle, 

171 
London,     Treaties    of:      (1814),    aSi ; 

(1867),  317 
London  Conference,  The   (1830),  298 
Louis  (IV)  the  Bavarian,  Holy  Roman 

emperor:    claims    imperial    throne, 

364 

Louis  XI,  King  of  France:  his  feud 
with  Charles  the  Rash  of  Bur- 
gundy, 43;  concludes  treaty  with 
the  Swiss,  405 

Louis  XII,  King  of  France:  reign  of, 
420 

Louis  XIII,  King  of  France:  death  of, 
214 

Louis  XIV,  King  of  France:  ambi- 
tions of,  235;  his  relations  with 
Switzerland,  477 


616 


INDEX 


Louis  de  Male,  Count  of  Flanders: 
recognizes  liberty  of  Flanders,  34 

Louis  of  Bourbon,  Bishop  of  Liege: 
revolt  of  his  subjects,  44 

Louis  of  Cressy,  Count  of  Bruges: 
reign  of,  32 

Louis  of  Nassau,  brother  of  William  of 
Orange:  sketch  of,  86;  at  the 
Duffle  Conference,  93;  his  cam- 
paigns in  the  revolution,  109 

Louis  of  Nassau,  nephew  of  William 
of  Orange :  his  expedition  against 
Cadiz,    163;   at  battle   of   Nieuport, 

174 
Louis  the  Moor,  Duke  of  Milan:    de^ 

feated  by  the  French,  420 
Lorraine:    divided,  21 
Lorraine,    Rene,    Duke    of:     see    Rene, 

Duke  of  Lorraine 
Louvain:    expels  the  patrician  families, 

30;   siege  of   (1635),  212;  battle  of 

(1831),  301 
Louvain,  University  of:    founded,  63 
Lucerne:    uprising    in,    499;    siege    of 

(1847),  552 
Lucerne,   League  of:    sketch   of,   385 
Lumey,  William  de.  Count  de  la  Marck : 
made  commander  of  the  privateers, 
112 
Lussi,  Melchior:  introduces  the  Jesuits 

into  Switzerland,  457 
Lupicimes,  Saint:  sketch  of,  338 
Luther,   Martin:   effect  in  the   Nether- 
lands of  his  teachings,  55 
Lutherans :  in  the  Netherlands,  91 
Lutzen:  battles  of  (1632),  215;   (1813), 

272 
Luxembourg,     Frangois     Henri,     Duke 
de:  his  campaign  in  the  low  coun- 
tries, 240 
Lyons,    John:     leads    insurrection    in 
Ghent,  34 


M 


Maanen,  Cornelius  Felix  van:   opposi- 
tion to,  295 
Mad  Life,  Band  of  the  (1477),  410 
Maestricht:     sieges     of     (1579),     133; 

(167s),  240 
Maeterlinck,  Maurice:  sketch  of,  312 
Malmaison,  Scheme  of  (1801),  518 


Malplaquet:  battle  of  (1709),  250 

Mansfeld  (Mansfield),  Ernst,  Count 
of:  struggles  against  the  imperial 
arms,  204 

Mansfield  (Mansfeld),  Peter  Ernst, 
Count  of:  withdraws  from  confed- 
eration, 93;  made  governor  of 
Brussels,  96;  takes  the  new  oath  of 
allegiance,  102;  member  of  govern- 
ing council  of  the  Netherlands, 
120;  appointed  governor  of  the 
Netherlands,  160 

Manuel,   Nicholas :   sketch  of,  431 

Manz,  Felix:  teachings  of,  437 

Marche-en-Famenne,  Treaty  of  (1577), 
126 

Margaret  of  Austria:  career  of,  53 

Marguerite  (Margarita),  Duchess  of 
Parma:  made  regent  of  the  Neth- 
erlands, 72;  joins  plot  against 
Granvelle,  78;  death  of,  106 

Marguerite  of  Valois,  Queen  of  Na- 
varre:  visits   the   Netherlands,    127 

Maria  Theresa,  Archduchess  of  Aus- 
tria, Queen  of  Hungary  and  Bo- 
hemia: accession  of,  254 

Maria  Theresa,  wife  of  Albert  of  Saxe- 
Teschen:  recalled  from  Belgium, 
260 

Maria  of  Burgundy:  see  Mary  of  Bur- 
gundy 

Marignano:  battle  of   (1515),  422 

Marius  Caius:  his  campaign  against 
the  Cimbri  and  Teutons,  329 

Marlborough,  John  Churchhill,  Duke 
of:  sent  to  protect  Dutch,  249 

Marnix,  Philip  de.  Lord  of  St  Alde- 
gonde:  signs  the  confederation,  86 

Marnix,  John  de.  Lord  of  Toulouse: 
fate  of,  101 

Martin  V,  Pope:  refuses  to  sanction 
the  divorce  of  Jacqueline  of  Hol- 
land, 40 

Martin,  Saint:  sketch  of,  338 

Mary  (I)  Tudor,  Queen  of  England: 
her  marriage  to  Philip  II  of  Spain, 

59,  (i7 

Mary  II,  Queen  of  England:  marries 
William  of  Orange,  241;  accession 
of,  to  English  throne,  244 

Mary,  daughter  of  Philip  the  Fair  and 
wife  of  Louis  II  of  Hungary:  re- 
gent of  the  Netherlands,  57 


INDEX 


617 


Mary  (Maria)  of  Burgundy:  betrothed 
to    Maximilian,    46;     accession     of, 
48;  marries  Maximilian,  49,  409 
Massena,   Andre,    Duke   of   Rivoli   and 
Prince  of  Essling:  his  campaign  in 
Switzerland,  516 
Matches:  trade  in,  made  a  state  monop- 
oly in  Switzerland,  580 
Mathias,  Archduke:  made  governor  of 

the  Netherlands,  128 
Mathilda,  Queen  of  England :  embroid- 
ers the  Bayeux  Tapestry,  25 
Maurice,  Saint:  martyred,  334 
Maurice,  Elector  of   Saxony:   victories 

of,  59 
Maurice  of  Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange: 
made  stadtholder,  146;  successes 
of,  160;  sketch  of,  192;  joins  the 
Gomarists,  194;  becomes  Prince  of 
Orange,  198;  death  of,  207 
Maurier,  Du:  ambassador  to  the  Dutch 

Republic,  198 
Maximilian    I,    Holy   Roman    emperor: 
betrothed  to    Mary    of    Burgundy, 
46;    marries    Mary    of     Burgundy, 
49,   409;    accession    of,    to    imperial 
throne,    51 ;    condemns    the    execu- 
tions  of   Egmont   and   Horn,    108; 
condition     of     Switzerland     under, 
417 
Mazarin   (Mazarini),  Jules  Giulio:    be- 
comes minister  of  France,  214 
Mechlin:   expels  the  patrician   families, 

30;  siege  of  (1572),  114 
Mediation,  Act  of   (1803),  519 
Medici,  Jacob  of :  uprising  of,  444 
Meghem,   Count:    his   mission   to   Ant- 
werp, 92;  at  battle  of  Bois-le-duc, 
loi;  takes  the  new  oath  of  allegi- 
ance, 102 
Meier,     Rudolf:     publishes     his     atlas, 

521 
Mello,   Francisco   de:    made   governor- 
general  of  the  Netherlands,  214 
Menapians,    The:     at    war    with    the 

Romans,  5 
Mendoza,  Francisco,  Admiral  of    Ara- 
gon:   commands   Spanish   forces  in 
the  Netherlands,  170 
Mengaud:     encourages     revolution     in 

Switzerland,  509 
Mercator,  Gerard :  sketch  of,  169 
Merian,  Mathias:  sketch  of,  483 


Merian,  Maria  Sibylla:  sketch  of,  584 
Meyer,  Bemhard:  leads  the  Ultramon- 

tanists,  547 
Meyer,   Konrad   Ferdinand:   sketch   of, 

584 
Meyer,  Valentine:  tyranny  of,  499 
Milan  Decree  (1807),  268 
Moersbergen :  arrest  of,  201 
Mondragon,    Christopher:    at   the   siege 

of  Middleburg,  116 
Monk,   George:    in   the   war   with   the 

Dutch,  230,  234 
Mons:  siege  of  (1572),  113;  battle  of 

(1678),  241;   siege   of   (1691),  245 
Monstrelet,  Enguerrand  de:  sketch  of, 

62 
Montenegro:  defends  Anuins,  164 
Montiguy,    Baron    de:    ambassador    to 

Spain,  90 
Mookerheyder :  battle  of  (1574),  I17 
Morat   (Murten) :   siege  and  battle  of 

(1476);  47,  408;   battle  of   (1802), 

518;  insurrection  in   (1830),  535 
Morat,  Peace  of  (1267),  361 
Mordaunt,    Charles,    Earl   of   Peterbor- 
ough:   see    Peterborough,    Charles 

Mordaunt,  Earl  of 
Morell,  P.  Gall:  sketch  of,  584 
Morgarten:     battles     of     (1315),     364; 

(1798),  5 14 
Moulier:    ambassador    to    Switzerland, 

477 
Muller,  :  makes  maps  of  Switzer- 
land, 521 
Miiller,    Johann    von :    sketch    of,    495, 
521 ;    pleads    for   unity   in    Switzer- 
land, 508 
Muller,  Thadeus:  president  of  the  Hel- 
vetic Society,  530 
Munch,       Burkhard:       his       campaign 

against  the  Swiss,  402 
Munster,  Treaty  of  (1648),  217 
Munzingcr,  Joseph:  his  speech  on  the 
sovereignty     of     the     people,     536; 
joins  movement  for  revision  of  the 
Confederation,  539 
Marifeld,  Peace  of  (1653),  473 
Murray,    Count:    made    governor-gen- 
eral of  Belgium,  260 
Musslin :  punishment  of,  467 
Muttenz:  battle  of  (1445),  402 
Myconius,       Friederich:       becomes      a 
teacher  in  Zurich,  436 


618 


INDEX 


N,  O 

Naarden:  siege  of  (1674),  239 

Nafels:  battle  of  (1388),  382 

Nageli,    Franz:    his    campaign    against 

Charles  III  of  Savoy,  448 
Nageli,   Hans   Georg:   founds  an  order 

of  popular  songs,  522 
Namur:  siege  of  (1692),  245 
Nancy:  battle  of  (1477),  48,  409 
Nantes,  Edict  of:  revocation  of,  243 
Napoleon    (I)    Bonaparte,   Emperor   of 
the  French:   growth  of  his  power, 
267;  his  relations  with  Switzerland, 
506,   508;    fall   of,   526;    return   of, 
286 
Napoleon  III,  Emperor  of  the  French: 
accession     of,     307;     attempts     to 
mediate     in     Swiss    troubles,    559; 
takes  possession  of  Savoy,  561 
Nations,  Battle  of  the  ( 1813) ,  524 
Natural   Research,   Society   for:   works 

of,  530 
Navigation  Act:  passed  (1651),  229 
Neeracher:  banished,  505 
Neerwinden:    battles    of     (1693),    245; 

(1793),  263 
Neuchatel:      transferred      to      Prussia, 
479;  revolution  in  (1830),  538;  out- 
line of  its  history,  558 
Neueneck:  battle  of  (1798),  511 
Neuss:   siege  of   (1474-1475),  46,  406 
New  York  City:  founded,  221 
Ney,   Michel :    in    the    Waterloo    cam- 
paign, 287 
Neyen,    John    de:    his    mission    to    the 

Netherlands,  185 
Nicholas,    Emperor    of    Russia:    favors 
Holland  in  Belgian  Revolution,  298 
Nicholas   von   der   Flue   of   Einsiedeln: 

sketch  of,  411 
Nicopolis:  battle  of   (1396),  Zl 
Nidwalden:  opposes  the  Helvetic  Con- 
stitution, 514 
Niel,  Adolphe:  makes  an  inspection  of 

the  Franco-Belgian  frontier,  309 
Nieuport:  siege  of  (1600),  172 
Nimeguen:  battle  of  (1589),  155 
Nimeguen,   Peace   of    (1678-1679),   240, 

241 
Noircarmes:   his   campaign   against  the 
Calvinists,    loi;     at    the    siege     of 
Mons,  113 


Nordlingen:  battle  of  (1634),  211 
Nothomb,    Baron:    leads    Belgian    Con- 
servatives, 298 
Notker  (I)  the  Stammerer  or  the  Saint: 

sketch  of,  343 
Notker   (III)    the  Thick-lipped:   sketch 

of,  346 
Novara:  siege  of  (1513),  421 
Ochs,  Peter:  plans  the  Swiss  policy  of 

France,   508;    plans   government   of 

Switzerland,  512 
Olivarez,   Gasparo   de   Guzman,   Count: 

power  of,  203 
Omerville,    D':    his    campaigns    in    the 

Netherlands,  179 
Opdam:   in  the  war  with   Sweden,  232 
Orelli,  Johann  Kaspar:   sketch  of,  531, 

543,  584  ^ 
Orleans,  Louis,  Duke  of:   death  of,  39 
Orleans,  Philip,  Duke  of:  his  campaign 

in  the  Netherlands,  241 
Ortelius,  Abraham:  sketch  of,  169 
Ostend:    sieges    of     (1601-1604),     177; 

(1789),  261 
Ostend  Company:  sketch  of,  253 
Osterweel:  battle  of  (1567),  102 
Otho  II,   Holy  Roman  emperor:   g^ves 

governorship  of  Lower  Lorraine  to 

a    prince    of    the    royal    house    of 

France,  22 
Otho  IV,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  at  the 

battle  of  Bouvines,  29 
Otho    of    France,    Duke    of    Lorraine: 

sketch  of,   22 
Otho  of  Nassau :  unites  the  cantons  of 

Guelders,  26 
Otto- Venire:  sketch  of,  220 
Oudenarde:  battle  of  (1708),  250 


P.  Q 

Fallot:  treachery  of,  152 

Parma,  Alexander  Famese,  Duke  of: 
marriage  of,  85;  his  campaigns  in 
the  Netherlands,  130,  145;  his  rela- 
tion to  the  assassination  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  144 

Parma,  Marguerite,  Duchess  of:  see 
Marguerite,  Duchess  of  Parma 

Pann,  Peter:  attempts  to  assassinate 
Prince  Maurice  of  Orange,  165 


INDEX 


619 


Parachelsus  of  Einsiedeln:  sketch  of, 
455 

Paris:  siege  of  (1589-1590),  156 

Paris,  Treaty  of  (1814),  280 

Parker,  Sir  Hyde:  his  expedition 
against  the  Dutch,  258 

Paul  IV,  Pope :  his  struggle  with  Philip 
II  of  Spain,  69 

Paux  (Pauw),  Adrian:  his  mission  to 
London,  225,  229 

Pavia:  battle  of  (1525),  56,  439 

Peckius :  his  mission  to  the  United 
Provinces,  203 

Perpetual  Leagpae  (1291),  362 

Pelligan:  becomes  a  teacher  in  Zurich, 
436 

Penn,  Admiral:  in  the  war  with  the 
Dutch,  230 

People,  League  of  the  (1653),  472 

Perpetual  Edict,  The   (1577),  126 

Perpetual  Peace,  The  (1474),  406 

Perrier:  leads  riot,  563 

Pestalozzi,  Johann  Heinrich :  sketch  of, 
496,  522;  success  of,  515 

Peter  II,  Count  of  Savoy:  defends 
Switzerland,  360 

Peter,  Long:  sketch  of,  52 

Peterborough,  Charles  Mordaunt,  Earl 
of:  his  campaign  in  Spain,  250 

Pfaffikon:  siege  of  (1798),  514 

Pfenninger:  banished,  505 

Pfyflfer,  General :  makes  maps  of 
Switzerland,  521 

PfyfFer,  Edward:  overthrows  the  gov- 
ernment in  Lucerne,  531 

Pfyffer,  Kasimir:  pleads  for  better 
representation,  539 ;  imprisoned, 
550 

Pfyffer,  Ludwig:  introduces  the  Jesuits 
into  Switzerland,  457;  plans  the 
Golden  League,  458;  aids  Protes- 
tants of  France,  460 

Pichegru,  Charles:  his  campaign  in  the 
Netherlands,  265 

Pious  Fund,  The,  319  note 

Pirminius,   Saint:   sketch  of,  339 

Pius  II,  Pope:  cooperates  in  the  found- 
ing of  the  University  of  Basle,  428 

Pius  II,  Pope:  quarrels  with  Sigmund, 
Duke  of  Austria,  403 

Pius  IV,  Pope:  promises  aid  to  the 
Swiss  Catholics,  456 

Philibert   Emmanuel,   Duke   of   Savoy: 


commands  Spanish  forces,  70;  as- 
serts his  claim  in  Switzerland,  458 

Philip  (I)  the  Handsome,  King  of  Cas- 
tile: his  rule  in  the  Netherlands, 
si;  death  of,  52 

Philip  II,  King  of  Spain:  his  rule  in 
the  Netherlands,  67;  concludes  an 
alliance  with  the  Swiss  Catholics, 
458;  death  of,  165 

Philip  IV,  King  of  Spain:  accession  of, 
203;  death  of,  235 

Philip  V,  King  of  Spain:  accession  of, 
246 

Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse:  concludes 
alliance  with  the  Swiss  Protestants, 

443 

Philip  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy: 
at  war  with  Flanders,  34 

Philip  the  Good,  Duke  of  Burgundy: 
career  of,  39;  death  of,  43 

Philip,  Bastard  of  Burgundy:  made 
Bishop  of  Utrecht,  54 

Philip  of  Cleves:  his  campaign  against 
Albert  of  Saxe  Meissen,  50 

Philip  Augustus,  King  of  France:  at 
the  battle  of  Bouvines,  29 

Philip  William,  Prince  of  Orange 
(Count  of  Beuren)  :  as  a  student 
at  Louvain,  103;  sent  as  a  prisoner 
to  Madrid,  107;  accompanies  Arch- 
duke Albert  to  the  Netherlands, 
162 

Planta,  Pompey:  death  of,  463 

Planta,  Rudolf:  leads  Austrian  party, 
461 

Planta,  Rudolf,  son  of  Pompey  Planta: 
slays  George  Jenatsch,  463 

Platter,  Thomas:  quoted  on  the  educa- 
tional system  of  mediaeval  Switzer- 
land, 452 

Pliny  the  Younger:  quoted  on  the 
Netherlands,  4 

Plymouth:  battle  of   (1652),  230 

Pontarlier:  taken  by  the  Confederates 
(1475).  407 

Portocarrero :  his  campaign  against  the 
French,  164 

Potter,  Louis  de:  banished,  295;  made 
head  of  new  provisional  govern- 
ment, 296 

Pragmatic  Sanction   (1713),  252 

Pratteln:  battles  of  (1445),  402; 
(1833),  541 


620 


INDEX 


Premonstratensian    Order:    in    Switzer- 
land, 355 
Printing:  invention  of,  6i 
Pyrenees,   Peace  of  the    (1659),  2^ 
Quadruple  Alliance    (1719),  253 
Quatre  Bras:  battle  of   (1815),  287 
Quesnoy:  sketch  of,  220 


Radbod,  King  of  the  Prisons:  power 
of,  14 

Ragatz:  battle  of  (1446),  402 

Rahn,  J.  H. :  sketch  of,  482 

Railways,  Swiss :  pass  into  the  con- 
trol of  the  government,  576 

Ramillies:  battle  of   (1706),  250 

Rapperswil:    siege  of  (1656),  476 

Raron,  Witschard,  Baron  von:  invades 
Valois,  393 

Rastadt,  Congress  of  (i797-i799),  S07 

Ratbert  of  Zurich:  sketch  of,  343 

Rautifeld:  battle  of  (1352),  376 

Red  Cross  League:  formed  (1864), 
562 

Reding,  Alois:  in  the  war  against 
France,  514 

Reding,  Ital :  sketch  of,  398 

Reformation,  The:  in  the  Netherlands, 
54;  in  Switzerland,  431 

Regensburg,  Peace  of   (1355),  378 

Regula,  Saint:  martyred,  334 

Reinhard,  Landammann :  commands 
Swiss  forces,  524 

Reinhart,  Anna:  marries  Zwingli,  435 

Rembrandt  (Rembrandt  Hermanzoon 
van  Rijn  or  Ryn)  :  sketch  of,  220 

Remonstrants:  acquire  their  name,   194 

Rene,  Duke  of  Lorraine:  defeats 
Charles  the  Rash,  48,  409 

Rengg:  battle  of  the  (1802),  518 

Rengger,  Albrecht:  upholds  revolution- 
ary ideas,  503;  service  of,  514 

Renichon,  Michael:  attempts  to  assassi- 
nate Maurice  of  Orange,  161 

Requesens,  Luis  Zuniga  y:  made  gov- 
ernor of  the  Netherlands,   115,  1 16 

Restoration:  Society  of,  524 

Reubel:  urges  war  against  Switzer- 
land, 507 

Revolution,  The  Belgian,  90i 

Revolution  in  the  Netherlands,  The, 
85 


Rheinberg:  surrenders  to  the  states- 
general,  178 

Richelieu,  'Armand  Jean  du  Plessis, 
Cardinal  and  Duke  of:  death  of, 
214 

Richilde,  Countess:  given  the  govern- 
ment of  Flanders,  26 

Riedi,  Thomas:  at  battle  of  Ulrich,  393 

Rijp:  discovers  Spitzbergen,  167 

Riminants:  battle  of   (1578),  130 

Rissi,  Peter:  his  campaign  in  Italy, 
395 

Robert,  Count  of  Namur:  claims  duchy 
of  Lower  Lorraine,  22 

Robert  the  Frisian,  Count  of  Flanders: 
career  of,  26 

Robustelli :  leads  the  massacre  of  the 
Valtelline,  462 

Rochelle:   siege  of   (1628-1629),  209 

Rocroy:  battle  of  (1643),  214 

Roda,  De:  member  of  governing  coun- 
cil of  the  Netherlands,  120 

Roene,  De:  at  the  siege  of  Calais,  163 

Rohan,  Due  Henri  de:  his  campaign  in 
Switzerland,  463 

Rolle,  Christoph:  leads  the  Democratic 
party,  565 

Romanus,  Saint:  sketch  of,  338 

Rook  (Rooke),  Sir  George:  his  cam- 
paign against  the  French,  250 

Rosbeke:  battle  of  (1382),  35 

Rosch,  Ulrich,  Abbot  of  St.  Gall:  peo- 
ple revolt  against,  416 

Roth  of  Rumisberg,  Hans:  discovers 
the  plot  to  surprise  Soleure,  379 

Roubli,  Wilhelm:  marriage  of,  435 

Rouen:  siege  of  (1591),  158 

Rubens,  Peter  Paul :  sketch  of,  220 

Rudolf  (I)  of  Hapsburg,  Holy  Roman 
emperor:  career  of,  361 

Rudolf  n.  Holy  Roman  emperor:  of- 
fers to  mediate  between  Spain  and 
the  Netherlands,  133 

Rudolf  II,  King  of  Burgundy:  see  Ru- 
dolf, King  of  France. 

Rudolf  III,  King  of  Burgundy:  char- 
acter of,  345 

Rudolf,  King  of  France  and  Burgundy: 
his  conquests  in  Switzerland,  344 

Rudolf  II,  Count  of  Hapsburg:  his 
struggle  with  the  Swiss  towns,  359 

Rudolf,  Duke  of  Suabia  (Alaraannia)  : 
career  of,  347 


INDEX 


621 


Rudolf  von  Balm:  plots  against  Albert 
I  of  Austria,  364 

Rudolf  von  Erlach:  leads  relief  for 
Laupen,  374 

Rudolf  von  Wart:  plots  against  Albert 
I  of  Austria,  364 

Rudolf  von  Werdenberg,  Count:  aids, 
rebellion  of  Appenzell,  390 

Ruhrart:  battle  of  (1604),  179 

Rupert,  Prince  of  the  Palatinate:  in 
the  war  with  the  Dutch,  234 

Russ,  Melchior:  sketch  of,  427 

Ruyter,  Michel  de:  at  battle  of  Ply- 
mouth, 230;  in  the  war  with  Swe- 
den, 232;  death  of,  240  and  note 

Rysdael :  sketch  of,  220 

Ryhove,  Francis  de  Kethulle,  Lord  of: 
becomes  a  demagogue,  129;  death 
of,  141 

Rypergherste,  Giles  de:  commands 
Flemish  auxiliaries  in  the  English 
army,  34 

Ryswick,  Peace  of  (1697),  245 


Saint   Aldegonde,    Philip    de:    defends 

Antwerp,  150 
St.  Denis:  battle  of  (1562),  460 
St.     Gothard     Railways:     building     of, 

563,  574 
St.  Jakob:    battle  of  (1443),  400 
St.  Jakob  an  der  Birs:  battle  of  (1445), 

402 
St  John,  Oliver:     his  mission  to  The 

Hague,  229 
St,  Julien,  Peace  of   (1530),  447 
St.  Omer:  siege  of  (1677),  241 
St.  Quentin:  battle  of  (1557),  70 
Sales,  Francis  de:  teachings  of,  458 
Salis-Soglio,  General  von :  chosen  gen- 
eral of  Conservative  forces,  551 
Sandwich,  Edward  Montague,  Earl  of: 

death  of,  236 
Saussure,   Horace   Benedict  de:   sketch 

of,  494 
Saxe,  Count  Maurice  de  or  Maurice  of 

Saxony:  his  campaigns  in  the  War 

of  the  Austrian  Succession,  255 
Saxons,  The:     struggle  of,     with    the 

Franks,  ii 


Saxon  League,  The,  ii 

Schauensee,  Meyer  von :  his  speech  be- 
fore the  Helvetic  Society,  503 

Schaflfhausen :  insurrection  in  (1798), 
509 

Schauenburg:  his  campaign  in  Switzer- 
land,  510 

Scheuchzer,  J.  J. :  sketch  of,  482,  488 

Schuhmacher,  Placidus:  leads  bur- 
gesses of  Lucerne,  499 

Schenck,  Martin:  career  of,  155 

Scherr,  Thomas:  directs  training  school 
for  teachers,  542 

Scheveling:  battle  of   (1653),  230 

Schibi,  Christian:  leads  insurrection, 
472;  death  of,  473 

Schilling,  Diebold,  of  Berne:  sketch  of, 
427 

Schilling,  Diebold,  of  Lucerne:  sketch 
of,  427 

Schinner,  Matthew,  Bishop  of  Sion: 
raises  troops  for  the   Pope,  431 

Schmied,  Konrad :   reforms  of,  436 

Schnell,  Karl :  demands  a  reform  in  the 
,  constitution,  533 

Schnell,  Ludwig:  demands  a  reform  in 
the   constitution,    533;     sketch    of, 

534 
Schoosshalde :  battle  of  (1289),  361 
Schwaderloo:  battle  of   (1499),  418 
Schwa rzemberg.    Count:    proclaims    the 
friendliness   of   the   princes   of   the 
empire  toward  the  Belgians,  86;  at 
the   Breda   Conference,    119 
Schwartzhoff,  von:  at  the  International 

Peace  Conference,  318 
Schweizer,  Alexander:  sketch  of,  584 
Schweizer,  Kaspar:   sketch  of,  483 
Schwyz,  Diets  of:  (1802),  518;  (1833), 

541 
Sempach:  battle  of  (1386),  381 
Sempach,    Convention    of    (i393).    383, 

387 
Sempach,  Society  of:  work  of,  530 
Senef  (Seneffe)  :  battle  of  (1674).  240 
Seven  Years'  War,  256 
Seville,  Treaty  of   (1729).  253 
Servet :  death  of,  449 
Sforza,   Maximilian:  given  the  key  of 

Zurich,  421 
Sheemess:  captured  by  the  Dutch,  234 
Shovel,  Sir  Qoudesley:  his  services  for 

the  Dutch,  250 


622 


INDEX 


Sidler,   Landatnmann :   joins    movement 
for    revision    of   the    Confederation, 

539 
Sidney,  Sir  Philip :  sketch  of,  151 
Siebnerkonkordat    (1832),  540 
Sieguart-Miiller,   Konstantin:   leads    the 

Ultramontanists,  547 
Sigismund,      Holy      Roman      emperor: 

sanctions  the  Council  of  Constance, 

396 
Sigismund,    Burgimdian    king:    conver- 
sion of,  337;  aids  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity, 338 
Sigismund,   Duke   of  Austria:   acquires 

part  of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions,  394; 

opposes  Swiss  leagues,  403 
Simmler,  Josias :  sketch  of,  454 
Simplon  Tunnel :  built,  578 
Sion:  battle  of  (1475),  407 
Sixtus     IV,     Pope :     disapproves     the 

Spanish   Inquisition,   83   note 
Sixtus  V,   Pope :   concludes   an  alliance 

with  the  Swiss  Catholics,  458 
Slatius,    Henry:    plots    against    life     of 

Maurice  of  Nassau,  205 
Slaughter  Act   (1893),  587 
Sluys    (Sluis)  :    battle    of    (1340),    33; 

surrenders    to     the     states-general, 

178 
Sneyders :  sketch  of,  220 
Solebay:  battle  of  (1672),  236 
Soleure,  Massacre  of   (1382),  379 
Soleure,  Treaty  of  (1663),  477 
Sophia,    Queen    of    Holland:    influence 

of,  314 
Soreas,  John  de:  leads  rebellion,  loi 
Spanish  Fury,  The   (1576),  122 
Spencer:    represents     England     at     the 

Hague    Peace    Commission    (1607), 

186 
Spinola,   Ambrose:   career  of,   177;   his 

campaign    in    the    Palatinate,    203; 

member     of     Peace      Commission, 

186 
Spinola,  Frederick:  career  of,  177 
Spitzbergen:  discovered,  167 
Spurs,  Battle  of  the  (1513),  54 
Stalder:  sketch  of,  521 
Stampfli,    Jakob:    at    the    head    of    the 

government  of  Berne,  563 
Stanley,  William:   treachery  of,    152 
Stans,  Covenant  of   (1478),  412 
Stapfer:  banished,  505 


Stapfer,  Albrecht :   service  of,  514 
Steenkirk  (Enghien)  :  battle  of  (1692), 

245 
Steiger,    Von :     leads    peace    party    in 

Berne,  511 
Stettler,  Michael:  sketch  of,  482 
Stirum,    Count:    leads    patriotic    move- 
ment, 272 
Stongarde:  battle  of  (1013),  23 
Stoss,  The:  battle  of   (1405),  390 
Stoutenburg,       William       van:       plots 
against  life  of  Maurice  of  Nassau, 

205 

Straeten,  Van :  arrest  of,  105 ;  death  of, 
108 

Strauss,  David:  given  chair  of  theology 
at  the   University  of  Zurich,  545 

Strickland,  Walter:  his  mission  to  The 
Hague,  229 

Stryker,  Herman:  sketch  of,  92 

Studer:  sketch  of,  584 

Stumpf,  Johannes :   sketch  of,  454 

Sturm,  Jakob:  quoted  on  the  Swiss 
Confederates,  442 

Stiissi,  Rudolf:  opposes  Reding,  398 

Styger,  Paul:  leads  opposition  to  the 
new  constitution,  513 

Suabian  War,  394 

Succession,  War  of  the  Spanish,  247,  478 

Sulzer:  sketch  of,  494 

Suvarov  (Suwarow  or  Suvaroff), 
Count  Alexander:  his  campaign 
against  the  French,  517 

Suter,  Anton  Joseph:  leads  popular 
faction  in  Inner  Rhodes,  501 

Swiss  Club:  sketch  of,  504 

Sweveghem,  De:  his  mission  to  Eng- 
land, 126 

Swiss  Brotherhood,  518 

Switzerland,  History  of:  the  ancient 
races  and  their  civilization,  327; 
union  under  Carlovingian  and  Ger- 
man rule,  340;  territorial  division, 
347;  formation  of  the  leagues,  357; 
growth  of  Confederation,  372; 
Switzerland  at  the  height  of  her 
power,  389;  the  era  of  Reforma- 
tion, 431 ;  religious  wars  and  the 
aristocratic  constitutions,  461 ;  polit- 
ical disunion  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  487;  revolution  and  at- 
tempts at  reorganization,  503 ;  in- 
ternal reorganization,  533;  the  con- 


INDEX 


628 


solidation    of    the    Federal     states, 
556;    centralization    and    socialism, 
569 
Sybilla    of    Cleves:    excites    her   people 
against  the  Spaniards,  170 


Talleyrand-Perigord,     Charles     Maurice 
de :    favors    the    formation    of    the 
kingdom  of  Holland,  280 
Tatwil:  battle  of  (1351),  376 
Telling,  Frischhans:  sketch  of,  414 
Telegraphs,   Swiss :   pass   into  the   con- 
trol of  the  government,  578 
Tell  (Tall),  William:  legends  of,  367 
Temple,   General :   his  campaign  in   the 

Netherlands,  122 
Teniers,  David :   sketch  of,  220 
Terburg    (Ter   Borch)    Gerard:    sketch 

of,  220 
Tergoes:   siege  of   (1572),   114 
Thirty  Years'  War,  The,  203,  462 
Thomas     von     Falkenstein:     besieges 

Brugg,  401 
Thorbecke,  Jan :  career  of,  314 
Thorberg,  Peace  of  (1368),  378 
Thiiring   von    Hallwil :    made    governor 

of  Zurich,  400 
Ticino  Question,  The,  581 
Tilly,     Johann     Tserclass,     Count     of: 
crushes    rebellion   of  the   Count   of 
Mansfeld   and   Christian   of    Bruns- 
wick, 204 
Timmerman,    Antony:    plots    death     of 

William  of  Orange,  138 
Tirano:  battle  of   (1620),  463 
Tonchin:  sketch  of,  482 
Tournay:  siege  of  (1581),  137 
Towns:  growth  of,  in  the  Netherlands, 
24;  growth  of,  in   Switzerland,  353 
Trautmansdorff,    Count:    policy  of,    in 

Belgium,  260 
Trent,   Council  of    (1545-1563)  :   its  ef- 
fect  in   Switzerland,  456 
Trientbach:   battle  of   (1844),  549 
Trieson:  battle  of   (1499),  418 
Triple     Alliances:     (1596),     162    note; 

(1668),  235 
Tromp,      Marten      Harpertzoon      van : 
gains  the  Battle  of  the  Downs,  213; 
at  the  battle  of  Dover,  229;  in  the 
war  with  the  English,  230 


Troubles,  Council  of:  established,  105 
Troxler:   deprived   of   his   appointment, 

529 
Tschudi,  Giles :  sketch  of,  454 
Tschudin,  Valentine:  reforms  of,  439 
Turenne,    Henri    de    La    Tour    d'Au- 

vergne.  Viscount  of:    his  campaign 

in  the  Netherlands,  235 
Tumhout:     battles     of      (1597),     164; 

(1789).  261 
Turretin    (Turretini),   Frangois:   sketch 

of,  482 
Tutilo:  sketch  of,  343 


U,  V 

Ulrich:  battle  of  (1419),  393 

Uri,  Landammann  of:   at  the   Munstcr 

Conference,  465 
Ursus,  Saint:  martyred,  334 
Uster,  Assembly  of  (1830),  535 
Uster,  Memorial  of  (1830),  535 
Usteri,  Martin:  sketch  of,  522 
Usteri,     Paul:     upholds     revolutionary 
ideas,    503;    leads    the    Centralists. 
518;  influence  of,  531 
Utrecht,  Congress  of  (1690),  244 
Utrecht,  Treaty  of   (1713),  251,  479 
Utrecht,  Union  of  (1579),  133 
Uyttenbogaert :    his    attempts    for   peace 
in  religious  quarrels,  198;  arrest  of, 
201 
Valdez :    his   campaign   in   the    Nether- 
lands, 118 
Valenciennes:    sieges    of    (1567),    100; 

(1677).  240 
Valtelline,  Massacre  of  (1620),  462 
Van   Artavelde:   see   Artavelde,  van 
Van    Borselen,    Vrank:    see    Borselen, 

Vrank  van 
Van   Eyck,  John:   see  John  of  Bruges 
Van  Hasselaar,    Catherine:  see    Hasse- 

laar,  Catherine  van 
Van    de    Weyer:    member    of    Belgian 

provisional  government,  297 
Van  Straelen:  see  Straelen,  van 
Van  der  Does,  Admiral:  see  Does,  Ad- 
miral van  der 
Van  der  Duye,  John:  sec  Dousa 
Van    der    Mersch,    Francis:    commands 
patriot  army  in  Belgium,  261 


624 


INDEX 


Van   der   Noot:   leads   malcontents    in 

Belgium,  260 
Vandenberg,  Adrien:  aids  plot  to  cap- 
ture Breda,  156 
Vanderwerf:    at   the    siege    of    Leyden, 

118 
Vandyke,  Sir  Anthony:    sketch  of,  220 
Varas,  Count  of:  death  of,  164 
Vargas:    made    vice    president    of    the 

Council  of  Troubles,  105 
Venero:     plots     death    of  William     of 

Orange,  138 
Venice:     concludes     alliance    with     the 

Swiss   Protestants,  444 
Venlo:  siege  of  (1646),  217 
Verdun,  Treaty  of  (843  a.d.),  341 
Vere,    Sir    Francis:    at    the    battle    of 

Nieuport,     174;     at    the     siege     of 

Ostend,  177 
Vere,    Sir    Horace:    at    the    battle     of 

Nieuport,  174;  his  campaign  in  the 

Palatinate,  203 
Vere,   Horatio:    his    campaigns    in    the 

Netherlands,  179 
Verhaeren:  sketch  of,  312 
Verhoef:   at  the  battle   of  the   Bay  of 

Gibraltar,  183 
Vervins,  Peace  of  (1598),  164 
Victor,  Saint:  martyred,  334 
Vienna,  Treaty  of   (1731),  253 
Vigier,  Wilhelm:  work  of,  564 
Viglius      van      Zwychen      van      Ayta: 

sketch  of,  76;  becomes  Primate  of 

the   Lowlands,   81 ;    opposes    Alva's 

taxation,  no 
Villars,     Admiral     de:     his     campaign 

against  the  French,  162 
Villars,    Pierre   de:     believed  to     have 

written   the   "Apology"   of   William 

of  Orange,  136 
Villaviciosa :  battle  of  (1710),  251 
Ville,     Ambrose:    preaches    Protestant- 
ism, 92 
Vilmergen:    battles    of     (1656),    476; 

(1712),  480 
Viol,  Hans:  sketch  of,  427 
Viret,  Peter:  teaches  in  the  University 

of  Lausanne,  448 
Vischer,  Colonel:  at  the  battle  of  Prat- 

teln,  541 
Visp:  battle  of  (1388),  392 
Vitelli:  at  the  siege  of  Mons,  113 
Vogelinseck:  battle  of  (1403),  390 


Voltaire  (Francois  Marie  Arouet)  :  in 
Switzerland,  489;  incites  Swiss  re- 
forms, 500 

Vonck:  leads  republican  tnovement  in 
Brussels,  261 

Vondel,  Jost  van  den:  sketch  of,  220 

Vorstius,  Conrad:  leads  Remonstrants, 
194 


W 


Wachtendenck :  taken  by  Prince  Mau- 
rice, 172 

Wadenswil:  insurrection  of  (1646), 
469 

Wadenswil,  Steflfan  von:  at  the  As- 
sembly of  Uster,  535 

Waerden:  siege  of  (1572),  114 

Wagner,  Sebastian:  reforms  of,  439 

Waldmann,  Hans :  at  the  siege  of 
Nancy,  409;  at  the  battle  of  Morat, 
409;  sketch  of,  413;  death  of,  415 

Waldshut:  siege  of  (1468),  404 

Waldshut,  Peace  of   (1468),  404 

Walloons :  description  of,  3 

Wapenaer,  Admiral:  in  the  war  with 
France,  250 

Waser:  draws  up  a  charter,  475;  trial 
and  death  of,  499 

Waterloo:  battle  of  (1815),  288 

Walter  von  Eschenbach :  plots  against 
Albert  I  of  Austria,  364 

Watl  (Vadian),  Joachim  von:  reforms 
of,  439 

Wattenwil,  General  von:  refuses  to 
fight  the  Allies,  524 

Weber,  Johannes:  at  battle  of  Neue- 
neck,  511 

Weber,  Veit:  sketch  of,  427 

Wehrli:  directs  training  school  for 
teachers,  542 

Wellington,  Arthur  Wellesley,  Duke 
of:  his  campaign  against  Napoleon, 
287;  opposes  Belgian  independence, 

25« 

Wengi,  Nicholas:  crushes  the  attempt 
at  civil  war  in  Soleure,  446 

Werdmiiller,  Conrad:  leads  peasant  re- 
volt, 473 

Werdmuller,  Rudolf:  in  the  Religious 
Wars,  476;  trial  of,  483 

Werenfels :  attacks  abuses  of  aristoc- 
racy, 475 


INDEX 


626 


Wemier:  leader  of  uprising  in  Berne, 
498 

Wernsfeld:  battle  of   (1586),  151 

Werner  von  Attinghausen :  leads  Swiss 
patriots,  364 

Werner  von  Romberg :  appointed  bail- 
iff of  Switzerland,  364 

Wesen,  Massacre  of   (1388),  382 

Wessenberg,  Ignaz  Heinrich,  Baron 
von :  persecuted,  529 

West  India  Company,  Dutch:  loses  its 
last  possession  in  Brazil,  231  note 

Westphalia,   Peace  of    (1648),  219,  465 

Wettstein,  Rudolf:  at  the  Munster 
Conference,  465 

Wickmand:  gains  a  footing  in  the 
Netherlands,  20 

Wilhelmina,  Queen  of  Holland:  birth 
of,  318;  reign  of,  318 

Wildhans  von  Breitenlandenberg :  de- 
fends Greifenses,  401 

Willebrod,  Saint:  his  efforts  among 
the  Prisons,  15 

William  (I)  the  Conqueror,  King  of 
England:  receives  assistance  from 
Flanders,  25 

William  (III)  of  Orange,  King  of 
England:  birth  of,  228;  placed  at 
the  head  of  affairs  in  the  Dutch 
Republic,  236;  his  connection  with 
the  death  of  the  DeWitts,  238 
note;  marries  Mary  of  England, 
241;  his  relations  with  Louis  XIV 
of  France,  242;  accession  of,  to 
English  throne,  244;   death  of,  247 

William  (I)  Frederick,  King  of  Hol- 
land :  proclaimed,  272 ;  reign  of, 
279;  abdication  of,  313 

William  II,  King  of  Holland:  in  the 
Waterloo  campaign,  287,  289;  in 
the  Belgian  Revolution,  296;  reign 
of,  313 

William  III,  King  of  Holland:  reign 
of,  314 

William  (I)  the  Silent,  of  Nassau, 
Prince  of  Orange:  pays  his  respects 
to  Philip  II  of  Spain,  73;  permits 
no  persecution  in  his  provinces,  77; 
opposes  policy  of  Philip  II  of 
Spain,  78;  sketch  of,  79;  joins 
Confederates,  89;  sent  to  Antwerp, 
92;  exiles  himself,  102;  summoned 
before  the  Council  of  Blood,   107; 


heads  rebellion,  108;  attempted  as- 
sassination of,  13s;  death  of,  142 

William  (II)  of  Nassau,  Prince  of 
Orange:  betrothed  to  Mary  II  of 
England,  213;  becomes  Prince  of 
Orange,  217;  sketch  of,  225;  death 
of,  228 

William  (III)  of  Nassau,  Prince  of 
Orange:  see  William  (III)  of 
Orange,  King  of  England 
William  (IV)  Charles  Henry  Friso, 
Prince  of  Orange:  marries  Prin- 
cess Anne  of  England,  254;  made 
stadtholder  of  all  the  provinces, 
255;  death  of,  256 

William  V,  Prince  of  Orange:  acces- 
sion of,  256;  resigns  his  powers, 
265 

William  IV,  Count  of  Upper  But^ 
gundy:  death  of,  348 

William  IV,  Count  of  Holland  and 
Hainault:  aids  John  the  Pitiless,  38 

William  of  Nassau,  nephew  of  William 
of  Orange:  his  expedition  against 
Cadiz,  163:  his  campaign  against 
the  Spanish,  210 

William  Frederick  of  Nassau,  Count: 
becomes  stadtholder  of  Friesland, 
213;  attempts  to  seize  Amsterdam, 
227 

William  von  Hochberg:  made  governor 
of  Zurich,  400 

Willie:  leads  insurrection,  520 

Winkelried,  Arnold:  legend  of,  381 

Winter,  Jan  Willem  de:  at  the  battle 
of  Camperdown,  266 

Winterthur:  battles  of  (919  A.D.).  344; 
(1292),  363 

Winwood:  represents  England  at  the 
Hague  Peace  Commission  (1607), 
186 

Witikind:  sketch  of,  15 

Witt,  Cornelius  de:  arrest  of,  3a6; 
death  of,  238 

Witt,  John  de:  grand  pensionary  of 
Holland,  231;  death  of,  238 

Wittenbach,  Thomas:  sketch  of,  426; 
attacks  existing  institutions,  432 

Wittenhorst,  Van:  negotiates  treaty 
with  the  estates  of  the  Netherlands, 
184 

Wohlegemuth:  his  mission  to  Switzer- 
land, 590 


626 


INDEX 


Wohlenswil:    battle   of    (1653),   473 

Wolleb  of  Uri,  Heinrich :  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Frastenz,  418 

Wollerau:  siege  of  (1798),  514 

Wolsey,  Thomas :  aids  Emperor 
Charles  V  against  Francis  I  of 
France,  56 

Worms,  Diet  of   (1521),  55 

Wrangel,  Herman :  in  the  war  with 
the  Dutch,  232 

Wuilleret:  leads  riot,  563 

Wyss,  Johann   Rudolf:    sketch   of,  530 

X,  Y,  Z 

Xanten,   Treaty   of    (1614),    191 

York,  Frederick  Augustus,  Duke  of:  his 

campaign  against  France,  264 
York,    Roland :     treachery    of,    152 
Ypres:    siege  of   (1789),  261 
Yvri:  battle  of  (1590),  156 
Zannekin,    Nicholas :     at   the    battle    of 

Cassel,    32 
Zenta:    battle  of   (1697),  246 


Zingg,   Michael:    persecution   of,   483 
Zofingen,  Association  of:    work  of,  530 
Zoller,    Matthias:     sketch    of,    427 
Zoutman,   Admiral:    at  battle  of  Dog- 
ger Bank,  258 
Zschokke,     Johann     Heinrich     Daniel : 

sketch   of,   531 
Zug:    uprising  in,  501;  siege  of  (1847), 

552 
Zurich:    sieges  of   (1351),  376;    (1352), 
Zn;    (1354),  378;    (1444),  401;   in- 
surrection   of    (1489),    415;    battles 
of    (June  4,   1799),   516;    (Septem- 
ber 26,  1799),  516;  siege  of  (1802), 
518 
Zurich,  Compromise  of   (1549),  450 
Zurich,  League  of:    sketch  of,  385 
Zuriczee:    siege   of    (1575),   120 
Zutphen:    battle  of   (1586),   151 
Zuyder  Zee:    battle  of   (1573),   114 
Zwier,    General :    at    the    battle    of   the 

bridge   of   Gislikon,   473 
Zwingli,     Ulrich :      founds     the     Swiss 
Reformation,  433;   death  of,  444 


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